Haru's Resolve
by Yuki Seki
Summary: After returning from the future, Haru hunts down Reborn and asks for a home tutor so that she can better protect Tsuna, Lambo, and Kyoko, so that next time there is a threat, she won't be a liability. Reborn refuses (Tsuna wouldn't like it), but Haru is determined and ends up finding Dani Shirokaia. Note: Prologue & Epilogue are 1st Person, the rest is 3rd.
1. The First Hit

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This story line takes place during the Inheritance Succession Arc and The Curse of the Rainbow. I've read summaries of these arcs, but not the actual Arcs (yet-working on that). As always, there may be a bit of creative license taken with some of what's going on, but this doesn't focus on Tsuna & Co at least for this story ^_^

To me, it always seems that everyone underestimates Haru and sees only the annoyingly energetic girl who is always hanging all over Tsuna. I've always liked Haru, even when she got annoying, and, to me, she's always had far more depth than Kyoko Sasagawa.

In the Choice arc, Haru stated that even though she knew the truth, she didn't know how serious the situation was, and therefore she felt that she was very selfish when she didn't know anything.

I think upon returning to the modern time in the story, Haru would set out to correct this very quickly and thus came up with this idea.

Please read and review. I hope you enjoy it ^_^

As always, Katekyo Hitman Reborn and the characters don't belong to me, they're Akira Amano's creations, but the original characters and storylines contained herein do. I'm just borrowing Amano-sensei's world for now ^_^

* * *

_**Prelude: First Hit**_

_CLICK!_

The sound echoed hollowly in the empty warehouse as the shackle closed around a slender throat. Chains rattled as the tall silent shadows of the Vindice closed in around the bloodied form and my breath caught. The golden tube hung in my hand for a long moment before tumbling in what felt like slow motion to the ground only to be caught by the fedora-bedecked toddler.

"You did it."

"I—"

I barely recognized my voice, it was so faint and I could feel myself starting to shake even as I watched the cloaked and bandaged-wrapped forms I'd only heard about collect their prize.

"What's going to happen to her?"

The words were helpless, I already knew the answer, but it didn't make it any less devastating when it came.

"She will be taken to Vindicare. What happens after that is not your concern."

An explosion of smoke filled the room and when it cleared there was no sign of anyone else except myself and my companion and the huge swath of destruction that ran the length and breadth of the abandoned warehouse facility.

"Congratulations."

My first hit as a hitman was against the one who taught me how to be one.

I didn't feel very victorious.


	2. Rejection! Reborn's Devastating Response

**Author's Notes: **

Hello and welcome to the first chapter!

I changed the story summary to note this, but the prologue (prelude) and epilogue are both written in first person, but the rest of the story is going to be written in third person (because I prefer writing that way, but the effect of the prologue & epilogue are better in first).

Over the last week or so since I posted the prologue, I managed to find the Reborn! manga online and managed to read all of it (it took me almost the entire week, 409 chapters is a lot balancing it with work and family stuff) and now with that under my belt, I feel more confident in going forward with this. Most of what I've already written is fine, but I might fine tune some of the timing to work with the stuff that was going on in the arcs that this particular story parallels with. I've got quite a bit more of this written than what I am posting right now, but I'll be releasing it once a week to give me a chance to go over each chapter thoroughly (since I don't have a beta and most of the people I would have go through this aren't familiar with this fandom) and make any appropriate tweaks that may be needed as I keep going with the story.

As I implied in the last author's notes, this story is possibly the first in a series of stories I have the urge to write ^_^

As always, Katekyo Hitman Reborn and the characters don't belong to me, they're Akira Amano's creations, but the original characters and storylines contained herein do. I'm just borrowing Amano-sensei's world for now ^_^

Thanks for taking time to read this. Please read & review! I respond to reviews as often as time allows ^_^

~ Yuki Seki

* * *

**Target 1: Rejection! Reborn's Devastating Response**

Haru Miura checked over the bento one last time, making sure that all of the favorites were there and nodded in satisfaction. Admittedly, it wasn't quite as good of a spread as it was when she and Kyoko worked together, but for this...

For this, she couldn't bring her best friend along.

Scenes flashed through her mind of Tsuna screaming at her that she didn't understand and her own tearful response and then the sheer devastation she felt as she sat across from the table as Tsuna finally explained everything. She'd managed to thank him for finally coming clean, but the hours after had been tear-soaked as she cried into Bianchi's shoulder.

She still had nightmares of the battles and devastation she'd seen overtake her beloved Namimori, but, eventually, they had to fade, right?

The first step to make them go away was to make sure they never happened.

Haru squared her shoulders and pulled on a jacket, checking over her appearance in the mirror quickly, there was no telling if she would run into Tsuna-san or not and she refused to look anything less than her best when she did so even if her target wasn't him tonight.

"Ciaossu."

"Hahi!"

Haru nearly jumped out of her skin at the nonchalant greeting and her brown eyes flashed up to the toddler on the wall. The endless dark pools of the Arcobaleno's eyes under the fedora made her shiver.

"R-reborn-san, how are you feeling?" she stammered.

"Much better now that we are back in Namimori proper," Reborn replied. "What brings you out here so late, Haru?"

"I—" Haru hesitated and then thrust the bento up in Reborn's face. "This is for you."

Reborn took the bento from her and set it on the wall, Leon scrambling down from the brim of his fedora and settling on the wrapped lunch. "Why are you here?"

All of the carefully rehearsed lines and arguments that Haru had spent the better part of the three weeks they'd been back from the future composing fled under the question. "I want a home tutor," she blurted out.

"What?"

His expression didn't change, but Haru could feel an unfamiliar coldness seeping into the tone of the toddler's voice.

"I want to learn the way Tsuna-san, Gokudera-kun, and Yamamoto-kun did. I want to be able to protect Tsuna-san and Lambo and…"

"No."

The word cut her off mid-sentence and she met the inscrutable look on the home tutor's face.

"Why?" she asked.

"Tsuna…Tsuna would not want you to go down that path, Haru," Reborn said.

"But I am tired of being a liability! I don't want Tsuna-san to have to worry about protecting me if another family attacks. I want to help Tsuna-san! I want to be a proper wife and be able to protect my husband and children!"

"Tsuna would not approve," Reborn said. "Respect his wishes."

"But—" Haru began.

"This discussion is closed," Reborn replied. "Thank you for the bento."

He walked away and Haru's knees gave out beneath her and she curled up and began crying almost as hard as she had in the aftermath of Tsuna's admission in the Vongola Base ten years from now.

A week later, Haru stared out the window at the moon riding low on the horizon. Her hands clenched, fingernails biting into the fleshy parts of her palm. Tsuna had been acting strange in school again according to Kyoko and neither of them had been able to get some straight answers from him. The new transfer kids and the rest of the Famiglia had been sticking closely to Tsuna lately and Haru couldn't help but feel like he was in danger—again.

"Why don't you talk to me, Tsuna-san?" she whispered. "I want to help you."

Her eyes went to the table top where papers were scattered all over—none of them having anything to do with the math test she had the next day.

"If you won't teach me anything, Reborn-san, I will teach myself!" she declared and began reading through the battle manga again.

"We have a new transfer student. Shirokaia Dani-san just transferred in from Osaka."

The announcement jarred Haru out of her worry-induced haze the following morning and she glanced up sharply. The new girl had long red hair that flowed down her back and golden brown eyes seemed to land directly on her and Haru felt a chill. It was almost like the new girl already knew her.

"I'm called Dani," the girl announced to the classroom, but Haru had a distinct feeling that the introduction was aimed directly at her. "I'm pleased to meet you."

"Shirokaia-san, please take a seat next to Miura-san," the teacher said. "Miura-san, if you will show Shirokaia-san—"

"I—" Haru began and cut herself off, how was she supposed to explain to the teacher she was trying to learn how to become a mafia hitman and didn't have time to show strangers around the school?

Dani passed by the desk and Haru saw a piece of paper drop into her hand and she slipped it underneath Haru's notebook. The redhead plopped down in her seat and snapped her gum. "I'll find my own way around, sensei, thank you though."

A small smile curved Dani's glossed lips as she looked over at Haru. "Treat me kindly, Miura-san," she murmured.

Dani turned her attention to the teacher and Haru fought viciously against the urge to find out what was on the paper the girl had put under her notebook. When the teacher turned to the board to start writing, Haru jumped at the chance to pull the paper out and slipped it beneath her desk and opened it. A squeak echoed in the silent classroom as the teacher's chalk stopped and she blushed and dropped her gaze from the teacher's disapproving look. "S-sorry."

Haru's eyes were arrested by the familiar seal of the Vongola Famiglia that was carefully etched on the front fold of the folded note.

They hit lunch and Haru practically tore out of the classroom only to be held up by some girls in the theatre club. "Miura-san, did you get a chance to look at the designs for our costumes this time?" one asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Designs…" Haru trailed off and her eyes widened in horror. "So sorry! So much has been going on lately; I haven't had a chance to."

"B-but the production is in less than six weeks even you can't get the costumes done that quickly, can you, Miura-sempai?" the second girl said.

"I—" Haru hesitated and then said, her voice harsher than intended. "I can't help you with your production this time. I have other things going on."

Shock flashed across the girls' faces and Haru shoved past them running towards the stairwell that led up to the roof of the school.

"You're late."

Light reflected off six rings that decorated Dani's hands, but Haru couldn't make out what they were and then got distracted by a thin piece of metal that dropped into Dani's hand. "Oh well, I'll forgive you this time."

"Where did you get this?" Haru demanded, brandishing the note the girl had given her like a weapon.

"Ah, good, you recognize the seal," Dani smiled. "So glad you were willing to join me, Miura-san."

"What do you know about Tsuna-san?" Haru demanded.

"More than you do apparently," Dani smirked. "As for with what…I'm not at liberty to say, honey..."

"If you can't help me then why did you even bother doing this? Does it give you a thrill to break an innocent young girl's heart?" Haru demanded.

"Innocent?" Dani repeated the word and her laughter echoed. "Young I will give you, but innocent, Miura-san? You saw far too much in that world ten years from now for me to buy that."

Haru's eyes widened. "How—"

"Watch out!"

Dani sprang into action and knocked Haru behind her, three pieces of metal identical to the one she'd concealed in her sleeve appearing in hand. Green energy crackled over the metal and she said something that Haru couldn't translate and the flat pieces arced through the air and exploded.

"Dying Will Flames."

Something wavered and then a man dropped to the ground, blood oozing from half a dozen wounds.

"Hahi! What…" Haru began and then her eyes narrowed. "What family?"

Dani arched an eyebrow at her. "You may just know more than he gave you credit for. Give me a second to get rid of the trash."

Haru's eyes widened in horror as the tiny girl began rolling the body towards the edge of the roof. "Hahi! Wait! What are you…" Haru began. "Are you a…hitman?"

Dani paused. "Maybe."

"You can't just throw him off the roof! What about the people below? It's lunch time and…"

"Well, what else would you have me do with him?" Dani asked impatiently.

"Couldn't we, well, tie him up or something? And call the police? He shouldn't be on the school grounds…" Haru said.

Dani gave her an incredulous look and then began to laugh. "Fine, we'll do it that way for now, but it's never wise to leave a living enemy at your back."

Haru shivered at her words and watched as Dani pulled out a rope from her school bag. "How did you…" Haru asked, her eyes going to the bag.

"Do you really think I have textbooks in there, Miura-san?" Dani smirked. "This will take just a minute."

They tied the man up on the roof and Dani made an anonymous call to the office to tell them about his presence and then she glanced at Haru. "We should probably go talk somewhere else. I don't want to be around to answer the police officers' questions."

They left the roof in a hurry and found an empty place on the grounds and Haru came to an abrupt halt. "What family?" she demanded again.

"Trabuchet Famiglia," Dani said. "They're not involved in the current troubles, but they're always more than willing to move in on unprotected territory."

"What family are you from?" Haru asked suspiciously.

"Freelance," Dani smiled. "I don't owe loyalty to any Famiglia…unless they're paying me."

"Then why are you here?" Haru demanded.

"This baby with a yellow pacifier accosted me on the street and offered to give me a contract I couldn't refuse," Dani answered.

"A baby with a yellow…Reborn-san!" Haru gasped.

"That was Reborn?" Dani asked, surprise coloring her tone. "I thought he was two hundred feet tall and breathed fire."

Haru giggled in spite of herself, but then sobered. "Are you here to protect Tsuna-san's territory?" she asked.

Dani snorted. "Me protect Vongola territory? You couldn't pay me enough to do that," Dani said, "my dad would hang me from the nearest tree."

"But…" Haru began.

"Besides if Sawada Tsunayoshi needs someone like me to protect his stomping grounds while he's gone, he's not much of a boss," Dani said.

"He's the best Boss in the world!" Haru snapped, her foot stomping the ground and then she blushed as Dani began laughing again. "If not that, then why…"

"Well, honey, that's up to you," Dani drawled, a gold tube dropping into her hand from her sleeve. "The contract the baby offered me had to do with you, not Sawada Tsunayoshi."


	3. Hahi! Haru's Own Home Tutor

**Author's Note:**

Now the fun begins ^_^

Because I'm silly, here's a bio for the character that's just been introduced (modeled after the Reborn Wiki):

* * *

**Name**: Dani Shirokaia

**Gender**: Female

**Age**: 18 (passes for 15 due to small stature)

**Hair**: Red (Long)

**Eyes**: Brown

**Status: **Alive

**Date of Birth**: November 13th (was born on a Friday)

**Associated Famiglia: **None [Freelance Hitman]

**Blood Type**: B

**Height**: 153 cm (5 ft)

**Weight**: 53 kg (116 lbs)

**Weapons: **Varies ("Playing Cards", Knives, Guns)

**Flame: **Storm (Primary), Can Utilize Rain, Sun, Lightning, Cloud, and Mist.

**More Information**: Dani poses as a transfer student into Midori Middle School from Osaka and is seated next to Haru. She was contracted by Reborn to be Haru's tutor.

She's short, but fairly muscular and can utilize a lot of different attacks. When Haru first meets her, she seems to be very powerful. She has long red hair that she wears down for the most part, but when she's in battle, it's in a braid. Dani wears six rings on her hands (four on her right hand and two on her left). Her nails are long and red and surgically hardened, acting much like neko-te. She has a tendency to keep a lot of things up her sleeves: notes, her "playing cards" (thin pieces of copper that she energizes with a Lightning Flame that explode like small grenades), knives…

* * *

As always, thanks for reading ^_^

This world does not belong to me, Katekyo Hitman Reborn! is Akira Amano and all the characters contained herein are hers. The original characters introduced & the story line belongs to me.

Thanks for looking!

* * *

**Target 02: Hahi! Haru's Own Home Tutor**

"M-me?" Haru repeated.

"Yes, you," Dani said. "He said something about not being able to take a direct hand in matters because of some promises, but he offered me a ridiculous amount of money if I were to offer up my services to you."

"Services?" Haru asked, her eyes going wide as her imagination immediately kicked into gear and she gasped in horror. "How d—"

The metal tube in Dani's hand hit the top of her head. "Where'd your mind go on that one, Miura-san?" she demanded and dipped one of her hands into a side pocket of her bag and handed her a card.

Dani Shirokaia

Hitman Extraordinaire

Tutoring Services Available

Call for Inquiries

080-3111-1111

"How much…" Haru asked.

"It's already taken care of, all you have to do is say yes or no," Dani said.

"Yes," Haru said firmly.

A grin lit Dani's face and then she turned serious. "This isn't something that's just going to take a small amount of time out of your day. You're going to have to make sacrifices to advance quickly—you can't be slow in this world. It also may affect school, Miura-san, are you okay with that?" she asked.

"I can do both because my love for Tsuna-san will see me through," Haru said. "He needs someone he can count on when he and the others aren't here."

Dani flipped the tube she'd hit Haru with over her knuckles, amber eyes considering. "Once you step onto this road, Miura-san, there is no going back," Dani said. "I want you to think of all the consequences before you go this route."

She took a step back and watched Haru for a long moment.

"I'll do it," Haru said and held her hand out for the metal tube.

Dani paused a moment then smirked and tossed her the item and watched as Haru fumbled it for a moment, but managed not to drop it. "That's a contract, Miura-san," Dani said. "Look it over carefully and think of everything you've already seen. You've only barely scratched the surface of Sawada Tsunayoshi's world. You need to be ready for the murky depths."

With that, Dani vanished into the crowds of students going back inside.

Once Dani was out of sight, Haru sank to her knees, shaking hard.

She wouldn't be going back to class today.

"_**Shirokaia Dani-san, ranked **_eighth of seven thousand, three hundred and two freelance Mafia Hitmen in most likely to disobey an order."

Dani started and she turned to see a boy with dirty blond hair watching her through a shield of dust and leaves. "Ranking Fuuta."

"Ranked number two in sticking to promises and contracts, and number one of those who always look for a loophole to get out of said promises and contracts."

A large book hit the ground and the boy dropped down to scribble in it. "I better write this down for Tsuna-nii."

"Why are you here?" Dani demanded.

"The ranking planet said this would be the number one place in Namimori to find something interesting today," Fuuta replied.

"Shut it," Dani growled and stalked away, ignoring the giggle that followed her.

Fuuta watched the red-haired girl disappear and sobered, his eyes going to another ranking. "Number one in most likely to…" he trailed off. "I need to warn Tsuna-nii."

Three nights later, Haru signed the contract with a flourish, her brown eyes lit with determination as she blew over the ink to dry it before rolling it back up into the copper tube that Dani had given her. She wore her most comfortable warm-up suit with the logo of her school's gymnastics team on the back. She slipped out of her room, passing her father's room where the light was already off and then downstairs and out the door. Her eyes went to the digital clock on the bus stop and her pace picked up; she only had until midnight to get there.

Dani sat on a swing in an empty park only a few blocks from Haru's house—it hadn't been horribly difficult to figure out where the girl lived before she enrolled in Midori Middle. Tonight, despite the chill that was starting to sneak into the air, Dani wore a pair of comfortable cargo pants and a black half-shirt with a lightning bolt slicing across her chest. Her eyes went to the clock. It was almost midnight; maybe she wasn't going to come after all?

"Leave Kyoko, Fuuta, and the others out of this—at least any more than they have to be. Haru will protect them all."

Dani's head dropped back and she saw Haru stalking towards her. "Especially Kyoko."

"Are you sure?" Dani said. "After all if Kyoko can't protect herself…"

"Haru will protect them without fail and Tsuna and everyone else," Haru stated. "Next time Tsuna-san won't have to worry about me. I won't let the ten years I saw from now happen without a fight. I will protect them."

Dani pulled out the contract, scrawled across the bottom in red ink was the brunette's name. Dani smiled and rose from the swing, turning to look at her. "Oh yeah?" she asked.

"I will learn to be the best," Haru declared. "And I will learn to make it so they don't realize it."

Dani skimmed the contract one more time before putting it back. "Then from this day forward, I will be your home tutor."

They shook solemnly on it and lightning chained across the sky.

"When do we start?" Haru asked.

Dani smiled darkly. "Now."

Dani's grip abruptly tightened on Haru's hand and Haru went arcing through the air, breath driving from her as she hit the sand of the playground hard.

"Rule number one. NEVER drop your guard, even with your teacher, Haru," Dani said. "It doesn't take much for an ally to turn into an enemy on the battlefield—even if they're Famiglia."

Haru forced herself to her knees and glared at her. "I'm just a beginner!"

"No excuses. No mercy, Miura-san," Dani said coldly, "EVER. You only get one screw up in this world. No second chances."

Haru scrambled to her feet and crouched into what she hoped was an effective stance. Dani snorted. "Wrestling requires you to have superior strength to your opponent and be able to take as much or more damage than you can deal. Use this."

Haru caught the flying satchel and a grin flashed across Dani's face, the street light making it appear almost frightening. "Your first homework assignment, novice, is to go through that. Master it quickly. There's no telling when there will be a pop quiz."

"Pop quiz?" Haru repeated.

"The Trabuchet Famiglia is everywhere, Miura-san," Dani said simply. "I'm not always going to be around. I'll send your classroom details to your email later."

"My classroom?"

"If you parrot everything I say, this is going to get boring very fast," Dani said. "Do you know what I do when I get bored? I leave."

"Hahi?"

Haru sat at the table, staring at the bag like it was a coiled viper. The new mail icon on her phone was blinking. _If you want to defend them, pull it together, Haru,_ she scolded herself and reached for the bag and carefully upended it on the table.

CDs scattered over the tabletop followed by a solid _thump_. Brown eyes focused on the book and widened.

"BEING A HITMAN—For Dummies" was scrawled across the handmade cover.

"Dani!"

A snicker echoed and Haru's curtain blew aside, revealing the petite redhead balanced perfectly on the window sill. "Despite the name, which was just to egg you on, by the way, the book will actually be useful," she said, dropping lightly to the floor.

"Y-your shoes…" Haru said.

Dani glanced down and then laughed. "Oops…sorry I've spent far too much time in the Western parts of the world. My apologies."

Haru glared at her. "That has some pointers on some of the finer things you'll be learning from me. I don't have time to hold your hand twenty-four/seven the way Reborn held Sawada Tsunayoshi's. Be at the classroom on time, Haru, or I'll put you in detention."

Before Haru could say anything else, Dani was out the window and gone.

Reluctantly, Haru picked up the book and opened it and her eyes ran over the beautifully rendered Vongola crest. "Tsuna-san…" Haru whispered then scowled. "I will be useful to you and I will protect everybody."

"Haru!"

Haru jumped as Kyoko's voice echoed and she quickly dropped the book in her bag and turned to smile at her best friend. "Good morning, Kyoko-chan," she beamed. "How are things going?"

Kyoko shook her head. "I saw him really briefly; he said he was dealing with shooting stars. I think they're fighting again, but this time away from home."

"Why do you let him get away with those lines?" Haru asked Kyoko. "Is Mama okay?"

"Yes, but she's upset because they aren't coming home for dinner."

The smile on Kyoko's face broke Haru's heart with its half-heartedness. "I'm sure they're fine, Kyoko-chan," Haru said, forcing confidence into her voice.

Kyoko managed a real smile and Haru relaxed. "Let's go eat some cake," Haru said. "It's our monthly date."

Kyoko beamed at her and caught Haru's hand leading the way to the bakery.


	4. Dangerous! The Book Didn't Cover This!

**Author's Note: **And the fun begins.

Sorry about the delay on this chapter, my hard drive tried to make an all you can eat buffet of itself not too long after I posted the last chapter and I had to rush it in to my tech before it really destroyed everything. I was stupid and forgot to upload a backup copy of the story to Google Docs, so I didn't have access to it to post (that has now been corrected).

Anyway, standard disclaimer goes here-the world and the characters from the anime/manga are not mine, but the original characters/storyline are.

Updates should be on-time from here on out as the rough draft is complete-it just needs the usual reread and minor editing before I release each chapter and keeping it on a weekly release schedule allows me to take care of it as well as write on other stories that I am working on. There will be a follow-up story to this one that is currently in the planning stages.

Thanks for reading and reviewing ^_^

* * *

**Target 3: Dangerous! The Textbook Didn't Cover This!**

"Five seconds late."

"Hahi!"

Haru dodged the blast vaulting up on top of one of the box piles and narrowly keeping her balance. Dani emerged from the other side. "Impressive, but…"

There was a loud _crack_ and the ground came up to meet Haru at a frightening speed. "Haru won't die here!"

She twisted and managed to turn the fall into a flip and landed on her feet, the plastic knife she used with her Namahage in her hand.

Dani snorted. "Did you really bring _that_ to training, Miura-san?"

Haru stiffened. "Haru doesn't have anything else."

"If you're not going to take this seriously, Miura-san, don't waste my time, I have better things to be doing than teaching you," Dani growled.

"It isn't possible to walk into a random store somewhere and acquire weapons," Haru scowled.

Dani cocked her head. "I'll direct you some place appropriate, but you'd better have the money to cover the cost of the weapons. It's not my responsibility to cover your classroom materials."

"How much does a weapon cost?" Haru asked worriedly.

"Depends on what you're looking for, I'll go with you if you'd like," Dani said. "You just need to tell me what kind of money you have so that I know where to take you. For tonight, we'll work on hand-to-hand combat. You've been watching the videos I gave you, right?"

Haru nodded, she'd also been finding other sources on the internet under the guise of working on a research project for school to throw her father off.

"Even though you're new at this, please forgive me if I don't hold back," Dani said and slipped into one of the stances that Haru knew from the videos.

Haru slammed into the wall some time later, the breath getting knocked out of her and she barely had enough strength to move as Dani's fist drove into the wall next to her, splintering the wood. She was exhausted, hurting, and a little doubtful that this was the proper course of action for her after all.

She opened her mouth to say something and then snapped it shut as her memories of ten years in the future surfaced. She dodged the next attack and ducked under Dani's arm to slam her forearm lengthwise into Dani's abdomen. She flinched a little at the crack that echoed and whirled away, her other arm coming up to block the next incoming attack. Turning again, she put her body weight behind the fist that slammed into Dani's cheekbone and sent the hitman reeling back.

Dani stumbled into a stack of boxes and they tumbled down around her. She sprang up and landed on the pile, watching Haru through the resulting dust. "That almost felt like you meant it, Miura-san," Dani smirked.

"Haru will protect everyone," Haru stated, shifting again for another attack even as her body screamed in protest.

Her arm throbbed a little and she could feel cuts and scrapes all over her and her head was starting to ache from the earlier contact with the wall and Dani was starting to blur around the edges almost taking on two shapes.

"Hold, Miura-san," Dani said, holding up a hand. "I think we're going to call it a night for now. I should probably get you to a doctor who won't say anything."

Haru's face paled, the only doctor she knew if the mafia was…

"NO! I will not go to that pervert!" she snarled and flinched a bit.

"Pervert?" Dani blinked and then giggled. "Ah, you are thinking of Trident Shamal, yes?"

Haru glared at her.

"Calm down, I wouldn't take you to him if he were the last doctor in Japan," Dani said, adding silently, _he'd kill me on sight likely_. "Trident Shamal is not the only doctor with mafia ties in this area. Come on."

Dani seemed to be moving a little slower than usual herself, which gave Haru a small amount of satisfaction as they made their way out of the warehouse. Haru paused in the doorway and looked over the broken boxes scattered over the inside. "Shouldn't we clean it up a bit?" she asked worriedly.

Dani followed her gaze and then laughed. "Don't worry, this has been a secret training facility for generations," she said. "It's perfect because we can alter the environment for different types of fighting and even though the walls look normal, there's a rather large chunk of tempered steel in there that can take most normal shots. It wouldn't stand a chance against Sawada Tsunayoshi and his guardians, even at their current strength, but it will work well enough for us."

_Current strength?_

The words swam through Haru's mind and she watched Dani's back suspiciously, but she let the word choice slip, silently filing it away in a corner of her mind to write down later. Haru knew that what she was doing was dangerous and she knew that there were potentially a million things that could go wrong, but Dani seemed to be genuinely training her.

They paused at the curb and Dani flagged down a taxi and they slid in.

"Are you all right?" the cab driver asked, taking in the various injuries of the girls in his backseat.

Haru frowned as she saw an indigo flame flare from one of the six rings that Dani wore. "We're fine, just practicing make-up for a school production."

"Ah, okay," he said. "Where to?"

Dani rattled off an address and sat back against the seat, her eyes focused on the driver's head as the indigo pulse continued.

"What are you doing?" Haru murmured.

Dani gave her a sideways glance. "Misdirecting," she said. "He won't even remember us or the address we're going to when we get out of the cab."

Haru watched both Dani and the cab driver worriedly. "Don't worry, I've no intention of hurting him," Dani said softly, just barely loud enough to be heard over the music the driver had put on in the front seat.

They pulled up to a building Haru assumed was the address that Dani had given the driver and Dani swiped her card through the meter. The door opened and they climbed out, thanking the driver politely, and then Dani made an odd gesture and the driver stiffened for an instant and Haru held her breath until the cab pulled away from the sidewalk.

"I told you I wouldn't hurt him," Dani said over her shoulder as she moved to the door that Haru could barely make out.

"It says closed…" Haru said.

"This clinic is almost always closed," Dani smiled and then rapped a peculiar rhythm against the door and stepped back. "Keep your hands in view at all times and don't ask too many questions if you value your safety. Dr. Tanpopo is an excellent physician, but she's a bit on the paranoid side."

"Hahi!"

"Don't worry, you're with me," Dani said and the door finally opened a crack.

Words in a language that Haru didn't understand fired through the door and Dani answered in the same and they seemed to get into a rather heated discussion before the door was slammed shut. Haru was about to ask a question when the rattle of a chain echoed and the door squeaked open just enough to let them in before slamming shut again.

Haru was momentarily blinded by the lights inside and her eyes went incredulously to the door.

"Blackout window," a cheerful voice said and Haru saw a woman in a white lab coat regarding them from behind the desk. "It's specially created to give the impression the office is unoccupied. Not many know about this place."

The figure wrapped in black cloth that had answered the door scurried off and through an exit on the side of the door.

"Dr. Tanpopo," Dani greeted and dropped into a low bow.

She reached out and yanked on Haru's jacket making her bow too. "She's upper level; don't look her in the eyes unless you'd like to challenge her."

"Hahi..."

"Yuri, Bara, take our patients to examination rooms one and two," Tanpopo ordered, rising from her seat.

"I…" Haru began, she was getting a bad feeling about this if she were separated from Dani.

Tanpopo cocked her head at her. "Don't worry, I won't kill you when you come to me as a patient," she said, "or, that one…" Tanpopo indicated Dani with a sharp nod, "wouldn't be here to show you my clinic."

Haru's eyes widened and she followed one of the two empty eyed girls that appeared into the room labeled with a two. The pink-haired girl settled her on the examination table and handed her a gown. "Please remove your clothing and prepare for your examination. The doctor will be with you shortly."

The brunette shivered at the complete lack of expression in the girl's voice, but obediently did as she was told while the girl politely turned her back, though Haru was sure she was watching her through the mirror over the sink. She finally finished and the girl turned towards her immediately and stepped forward with a thermometer and a blood pressure cuff and Haru submitted to her nervously. After all of her vitals were taken and written down on the clipboard, the girl left and Haru was left waiting nervously in the room for what felt like a very long time.

The door opened finally and Haru's eyes shot to the tall form of Dr. Tanpopo.

"What is a nice girl like you doing with the likes of her?" the butter-haired doctor inquired as she snapped on some plastic gloves.

Haru hesitated.

"One would advise telling the truth in this case, Haru Miura," the doctor said. "I won't kill you because you came as a patient, but I can refuse treatment."

"She's my home tutor," Haru blurted out.

"Home tutor?" Tanpopo repeated and a peal of laughter echoed. "I suppose that is about the only thing that no-good girl is good for."

"She isn't no-good!" Haru protested.

"One supposes to your untrained eyes it doesn't appear that way," Tanpopo murmured. "If you venture deeper into these treacherous depths, you'll very quickly find out the truth of the matter. Let me look you over. You managed to crack one of the ribs of that girl."

"Hahi!"

Tanpopo laughed again. "Don't worry; she'll be as good as new soon."

Haru saw a flash of yellow light in the vicinity of the doctor's fingers and her eyes went wide.

Tanpopo saw her reaction and chuckled. "I suppose you can see the Dying Will Flames?" she asked. "Not many can yet."

"Are you from the future?" Haru asked.

Tanpopo paused for a long moment. "This one would suggest you stop asking questions that don't concern you," she said.

Haru felt a chill go down her spine and she swallowed heavily. "I'm sorry."

She snapped her mouth shut and tried to keep quiet as Tanpopo efficiently treated her wounds and wrapped a bandage around her arm. "It's mostly fine, but you bruised it pretty good. You should be fine in a couple days. Since this is your first time in, I won't collect a fee from you, but, if you come again, expect to pay."

"Y-yes ma'am…" Haru stuttered.

Tanpopo smiled. "Though, come to think of it, why is that girl is your home tutor?"

"I want to protect everybody," Haru said quietly.

Tanpopo's eyes widened at the resolution in her voice and a different kind of smile lit her face—it was almost…kind. "Ah, I see," she said, she dipped her hand into the pocket of her lab coat and extracted a card. "Let me give this to you. Learn your lessons well Miura Haru. You won't be needing any prescriptions so you may get dressed. Shirokaia will be waiting outside for you. If she isn't, I will see that you return safely."

Haru took the card, but didn't dare look at it until the doctor was gone. She flipped it up and realized that it was Dr. Tanpopo's business card. She didn't recognize the crest in the corner surrounded by a stylized sun, but she tucked it carefully into the bag she'd brought with her and got dressed.


	5. Attack! The Unexpected Weapon

**Author's Notes: **For my purposes, I am going with the idea that Haru's father is a single parent and her mother died when she was younger. Her mother never came up in the anime or manga that I recall and her father just received a passing mention and a brief spotlight so I'm improvising a bit.

I am also playing a lot with what exactly each Dying Flame can do (and taking creative liberties). I know I have a lot of rings & such floating around, but given Lancia's boss had a ring, the fact that Varia had rings during the Curse of the Rainbow arc, & various other things, I'm going with the idea that rings (and similar items) for the Dying Will Flames are not completely unheard of (though they lack the power of the Vongola & Mare Rings) and Families (and Clans in the case of my Japanese Mafia people) in the upper echelons have access to such things.

As always, KHR doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Akira Amano, but the original characters and storyline are mine.

Thanks for reading and reviewing. As I've noted in the past, I do try and respond to every review that I get, but sometimes I don't get a chance due to the ten million things that dare interfere with my one-on-one time with the internet.

* * *

**Target 04: Attack! The Unexpected Weapon**

Sunday morning dawned bright and clear and Haru rolled out of bed, still stunned that she wasn't feeling the effects of her training. Whatever Dr. Tanpopo did made feel perfectly fine and she continued to feel that way even though she spent several hours every night training with Dani in the warehouse. Haru wasn't sure how to measure her progress, but she felt like she was making huge leaps forward after every training session.

Some time in the lessons the past few days had been dedicated to Haru experimenting with the massive arsenal of weaponry that was contained at the training facility. Finally, the previous night Dani had announced that she knew the perfect weapon for Haru to use and had informed her they would be going to a shop that she knew today. Haru had sold several of her video games, some of her costumes, several books, and had taken the lunch money her father gave her and squirreled it away and taken a boxed lunch to school since her father usually wasn't home when she left for class.

She got dressed in a hurry and headed downstairs, hoping her father was still sleeping after his long week at the university, but he was already up reading his paper when she appeared. "You're up early today, Haru," he said jovially. "Join me for breakfast? Asa-san outdid herself for this morning!"

"I'm sorry, Papa, I'm meeting someone for breakfast this morning…" she said awkwardly.

His face fell. "I was hoping to spend some time with you today, Haru, it seems like I haven't seen much of you at all over these past several days."

"Hahi!"

He was right, Haru realized, she'd barely seen him since she started training with Dani, even going so far as to make meals in the slow cooker on the days Asa-san was off so that she could meet Dani for her sessions.

"Haru…" she trailed off. "Haru will be back later this afternoon and we can go out then?"

Her father's face lit up. "Shall we go to Take Sushi for dinner and maybe go see that historical play you've wanted to see since it came out? I think Sumire-san is still the costume designer and I'm sure she'd let us back to look."

Haru managed a smile. "Haru would like that."

"It's a promise then."

"Yes."

Haru bolted out the door, fighting down the guilt that welled up in her heart as she sprinted towards the market where she was planning to meet Dani. She felt like she'd been telling nothing but lies to her father and to Kyoko over the past several days, but she told herself firmly that this was part of Tsuna's world. The world of the mafia was a world of half-truths and evasion, even with, or more likely especially with, those who were nearest and dearest to her.

"You were almost late, Miura-san."

Haru skidded to a halt, her eyes flying to Dani who was leaning against the wall with a piece of strawberry pocky between her glossed lips like a cigarette. The redhead was looking over one of the study guides the teacher had given them for the upcoming test and Haru realized with a start she hadn't even looked at it yet. The girl shoved away from the wall and tucked the guide into the oversized bag she carried and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "So how much did you manage to get?" she asked.

Haru reluctantly displayed what looked like a meager amount to the other girl and gasped as Dani snatched it out of her hands and expertly riffled through it. "That should be enough to get the basic model anyway," she said and handed it back. "Shall we?"

Haru tucked the wallet into her bra, there were still pickpockets running around and she couldn't lose it or she would fail and never be able to protect Tsuna-san. She followed Dani through the crowded street and frowned as they stopped in front of a lingerie shop. "This is the place," Dani announced.

"Hahi!"

Haru couldn't help the squeak in her voice as she followed the other girl in and her eyes ran around the racks in awe and she could feel her cheeks heating up even as her imagination went wild.

"Not there, Miura-san," Dani said sharply, pinching her arm and jarring Haru out of her daydream.

Haru reluctantly tore her eyes away from the lingerie and followed Dani towards the back where a woman at least five times as old as Haru's father greeted them. "You know the rules, Dani," she said in a creaky old voice.

"I know, she's my student and needs weapons of her own, I rather like keeping mine to myself," Dani said.

The woman's eyes went to her and Haru barely kept herself from cringing behind Dani's back and trying to avoid the scary lady altogether. "Isn't she a bit young for this?" the woman frowned.

"She made her choice," Dani said. "Let us in."

"Blindfold her first," the old woman ordered. "She hasn't earned this secret yet."

Dani sighed and blew her bangs out of her face, irritation flashing over her expression. "Fine, Viola," she grumbled. "Sorry 'bout this, hon."

Haru blinked as Dani extracted a dark cloth from her bag and moved around behind her and tied it over her eyes.

"Hahi?"

"I'm about to take you to one of the best kept secrets of this world. You have to earn the right to see the route—or hope that if you stumble on it yourself you can talk fast enough to avoid getting shot," Dani said.

"Is that what you did?" Haru asked.

She felt Dani stiffen behind her, almost confirming her answer. "Maybe."

Haru stifled a giggle and followed the tug on her wrist into some place that smelled a bit damp and she shivered. She kept her ears open and other senses since her eyes weren't available and tried to track the twists and turns that Dani—or the person she assumed was Dani—pulled her along. "Dani?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it just me or do they not seem to like you very much?" Haru asked, unable to resist the mischievous urge to pose the question as well as reassuring herself the redhead was there.

The hand tightened painfully around her wrist and Haru's breath hissed out. "Shut up, Miura."

Haru managed to keep another laugh in, but her mind started rolling through everything going on. Dani seemed to have utmost confidence in everything she did and had even assured her on multiple occasions that Haru would be fine because she was with Dani, but it seemed like every time Haru turned around, the people seemed to have very little good to say about her except she was an excellent teacher.

_I wonder if I should talk to Fuuta. I wonder if I can find him when Tsuna-san isn't around?_

Haru pulled her mind back to the present as the blindfold was ripped off and her eyes went wide as they moved over the area they were in now. "Hahi…" she gaped.

There were things everywhere she never thought she'd see in Japan. Weapons of many types, men, women, and even a few children of all nationalities milling around, Haru's eyes moved over the crowd and she couldn't help but step closer in to Dani. Gunshots echoed somewhere up ahead and were followed by a massive ruckus. "Let's go this way, we don't want to get tangled in that," Dani said, pulling Haru the opposite way of the gunshots. "Don't get separated from me, Miura-san. If you do, I can't promise you'll make it back to finish your training."

"O-okay."

Haru followed Dani through the people, getting separated from the red-haired girl twice and being unable to find her in the people milling around. "You're so short…" Haru mumbled.

She was rewarded for her comment by a punch in the stomach. "There are some things you really shouldn't comment about, Miura-san," Dani said flatly.

Haru would have answered, but she was too busy trying to catch her breath. "Here," Dani said abruptly and yanked her towards a rundown shop that had a picture of a butterfly stabbed through with a needle on the sign.

"I just have to make sure Madame Cho understands you're not here for _that_…" Dani said.

"Th-that? What that?" Haru asked, her imagination going into immediate overdrive.

"Probably exactly what you're imagining," Dani smirked and they opened the door of the shop accompanied by a ringing bell.

It took nearly ten minutes before someone finally came to the front, but during that time Haru's eyes ran over everything in the store. "What do you want, Dani?"

Haru's eyes snapped to the young man at the counter and he eyed her suspiciously. "I'm here to arm the novice," Dani said. "Madame said as long as there's money, I'm good here."

"Novice?" the young man turned a measuring gaze on Haru and her stomach clenched hard at the light that entered his eyes.

"She's here for weapons, not to enroll," Dani said. "Based on our tests and her preferences, she needs something subtle. I want to see the hair sticks."

"Hair sticks?" Haru squeaked. "What kind of weapon…"

"Don't knock it until you try it, novice," the young man stated flatly. "I'll be right back. I'll bring Akai out so that she can show your novice some of the basics."

"We don't have money for lessons," Dani scowled.

The young man smirked. "You can work it off later. The Madame has a few errands that need to be taken care of."

"I'm not…"

"Child, control your tongue."

The words were sharp and Haru's breath caught as the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen stepped out of the back. "M-madame Cho…" Dani choked out and dropped into a low bow.

Haru followed her lead but found a long-nailed finger under her chin, forcing her gaze upwards. "I've seen you before…" Madame Cho murmured. "With…"

Her eyes went wide. "Reborn…why are you training under her?"

"She's my home tutor," Haru managed. "She said that Reborn signed a contract with her to train me."

"I…see…"

Haru swallowed.

"You're not ready for this world yet, child," the Madame said softly. "Your eyes speak of too much left to see."

"Ready or not, this is where Haru belongs," Haru said firmly. "Haru wants to protect him."

"Protect…him?" Madame Cho drew the words out slowly. "Ah, I see. The boy Decimo. I will have Akai show you the good stuff then."

"Haru doesn't have a lot of money…" Haru said slowly.

"There are things other than money to bargain with in this world," the Madame smiled slowly. "And a member of _that_ Famiglia owing me a favor or two would not be amiss."

"Hahi!"

Madame Cho burst into laughter and then stepped back away from Haru, her eyes going to Dani. Suddenly Haru became conscious of the indigo light emanating from the woman's necklace. "Take my advice, Haru-chan, don't stay with Dani longer than you have to," she said. "You will regret it."

The light in the necklace winked out and Dani seemed to have teleported halfway across the room. "Get over here, Miura-san," the redhead said crankily.

"S-sorry, Dani," she mumbled.

Madame Cho vanished back into the room behind the counter and another younger woman in the same make-up as the Madame emerged, wrapped head to toe in a red silk kimono. "Welcome to Madame Cho's. I am Akai."

The words flowed like a melody and Haru was immediately captivated. "You are the one who wishes to look at the hair sticks?" the girl in red asked.

"Y-yes…" Haru squeaked, Akai was almost as beautiful as the Madame.

"You will go over there and wait for her, Shirokaia," Akai ordered the other girl firmly. "I will take care of her."

Dani looked like she wanted to protest, but, finally, reluctantly moved away. "You have acquired a troublesome tutor, Miura-san," Akai observed as she led Haru over to a display. "You will learn much from her though."

"Why does everyone not like her?" Haru asked.

"She's freelance," Akai sniffed. "She owes loyalty to no one except if they've paid her. That is not a place to be in this world. Famiglia is everything. What Famiglia are you from?"

"I-I'd rather not say…" Haru said.

Akai laughed. "You are smarter than you initially appear, Miura-san," she said. "These are special kanzashi created specifically by the Hanatachi Clan. Please, look them over carefully and pick the ones that draw you."

Haru looked over the array of hair ornaments laid out on the black velvet cushion, her eyes eventually arrested by a pair of green and blue ones etched with a fish. "Those," Haru said immediately.

"Ah," Akai said and carefully lifted them from their velvet bed.

Quietly, Akai went over every aspect of the hair sticks, pointing out several things in the design including the hardened metal tips. "To make these most effective, you should put poison on them and cap them so it does not kill you. I can tell you many different things that will make much difference as you continue along this path, but only the first lesson is free. After that, I will require payment."

"Y-yes…" Haru said faintly.

"I will teach you enough in this first lesson that you will not kill yourself or those closest to you," Akai said. "I cannot do less."

Dani watched with inscrutable eyes as Akai led Haru to the back and folded her arms. "You'd better not do anything to her," she growled, glaring at Kenta.

The young man behind the counter smirked. "She went back of her own accord, Dani," he said and caught her arm as she made to go back. "Unlike many others, Akai will not do anything to her except teach her. You should know that already."

Haru emerged nearly an hour later feeling like her brain was completely fried, but in her hands were the hair sticks plus a few other items Akai had insisted on giving her including several tinctures that would be useful to tip her hair pins in. "Do you have money left for lunch?" Dani asked roughly.

"Y-yes," Haru said.

"Let's go eat then," Dani said and grabbed her arm and led her out the door, barely giving her a chance to thank the shopkeepers for their help.

"I-I can't, I have to get home to my father," Haru said, forcing confidence into her voice and drawing Dani's incredulous look.

"What the hell?" Dani asked.

"I made a promise," Haru said.

Dani growled something unpleasant beneath her breath. "Fine. Suit yourself. Don't be late for lessons tonight."

Dani blindfolded her and led her back to the lingerie shop and as soon as they stepped outside, the redhead stalked off, leaving Haru clutching her bag and trying to put everything in order.

Haru's phone rang just as she started home and she noted it was her dad. "Hello."

"Haru, where are you right now?" he asked.

"I'm at the market, do you need anything?" she asked.

"No," he said.

"Haru will be home soon," Haru said, "headed that way now."

"Are you…okay?" he asked.

Haru blinked. "I'm fine, why?"

"Your teacher just visited, she said that you've been hanging out with a delinquent transfer student and that your grades are falling," he said.

"Hahi?" Haru said.

"Haru, I want you to study hard tonight," he said. "I will help you with your math; your teacher says that your grade there has fallen the most."

"But…" Haru began, thinking longingly of sushi and the play.

"We will study after dinner and the play, I'm sure it is something simple you're overlooking and it will be a fairly easy fix," her father said.

"Y-yes."

Haru scowled at herself in the mirror, fidgeting with the new hair sticks again, trying to get them just right. She was wearing a green Chinese-style dress and it seemed like the perfect time to test out the hair sticks though she wouldn't have to use them for anything tonight except keeping her hair in place. The sticks barely stayed in her hair and she sighed, she'd have to let her hair grow out more to make it ideal, but it would be more of a pain in gymnastics, but…she clenched her hand…no matter the inconvenience to her, if it meant being able to protect Tsuna-san and the others it was worth it.

She exited her room and smiled at her father and they headed out for dinner and the play and some much needed family time.

After the play, they went back to the back and Haru smiled in delight when it was Sumire who was still in charge of the wardrobe. "Oh Haru-chan! It's good to see you and your handsome father. Did you want to see some of the new costumes for this year's show?"

"Yes, please?" Haru said, her eyes lighting up.

They were led to the back and introduced to the cast before Sumire dragged Haru back further and started showing off some of the new stuff. "What is this for?" Haru asked, pointing at a fan that was labeled for one of the fighting characters.

"Sometimes when a sword wasn't convenient or if they didn't have one they could get their hands on, some warriors resorted to specially made fans. They were really heavy and could be used as clubs as needed and some even sharpened them so that they could stab with them."

"Really?" Haru murmured, contemplation entering her eyes.

"Yes," Sumire smiled and went off into a long discussion about the history of the fans.

Haru listened with fascination, meanwhile figuring out how she could add that to her repertoire—having more than one weapon would likely be a good idea. She made a silent note to try and find an appropriate fan next time she had enough money to do so.

"Haru-san, please wait here while I get the car," her father said after they exited the store.

"Okay," Haru smiled and he lumbered off.

She leaned against one of the poles to wait and suddenly stiffened at a sound behind her. She whirled, her elbow nearly catching a man in the throat as he closed in on her and then she drove her knee upwards into his stomach, thankful for the long slits in the side of the Chinese dress. The man collapsed to the ground and she pulled one of the hair sticks from her bun and placed the tip against the man's throat. "Who are you?" she demanded.

The man looked up at her in shock and for a moment Haru wondered if all of Dani's paranoid talk had finally gotten to her and then she heard a clang as something hit the ground. The man's eyes rolled into the back of his head and spittle appeared at the corner of his mouth. Haru's eyes went to the knife on the sidewalk then back to the man and her eyes went wide.

"Trabuchet."

Haru glanced up sharply and saw Dani materialize from the crowd that seemed to just keep moving without even noticing them. "Nice reaction time," Dani said approvingly and Haru noted the indigo light from her ring again.

"I…" Haru began faintly.

"Cyanide," Dani explained briefly. "_Omerta_."

Haru's eyes widened at the word and she straightened. "Why was he here?" she asked, proud she managed to keep the tremble out of her voice.

"Apparently to try and kill you," Dani said. "I've got this handled. I'll see you tonight."

"I…my dad says I need to stay home for tutoring…" Haru said slowly.

"Then come after you're done, I'll let tardiness slide this time," Dani said. "Now get before we start drawing attention."

Haru quickly turned and walked away, feeling a change in the air as she moved three feet away from Dani and spotted her father who seemed to be looking around anxiously.

"Oh, there you are, I thought you'd gone back inside," he said and frowned. "Are you okay, Haru-san? You look pale."

Haru managed to force a smile to her lips, but she knew it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm fine, Father," she said. _Actually I'm not, you don't see someone die every day, but…I have to get used to it…right?_


	6. Blast! What's Your Flame?

**AUTHOR's Notes: HA! I did it. I was almost afraid I wasn't going to get this out on time this week because I was rewatching a couple episodes of Reborn (specifically 77ish area) and realized that I'd put together this particular section completely wrong. So I had to scrub almost half of this chapter and work on the rewrite (and kept getting distracted by a few other things). However, I managed to finish it to my satisfaction for now and I'll be going through the next parts and altering what needs to be before I have to panic about it next week ^^;**

**In other news, I've finished the outline of my next fanfic and if I don't get it started/finished this month, I'll likely be using it for Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) fodder-though I don't think it'll be the full 50K needed for Nanowrimo Victory, but I have a few other stories in the works (original and not) to fill the space.**

**As always, Katekyo Hitman REBORN! doesn't belong to me (belongs to Akira Amano), but the original characters created for this story and my storyline are mine.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing ^_^**

* * *

**Target 5: Blast! What's Your Flame?**

"Watch out!"

The words shocked Haru into motion and she dodged the jagged pieces falling from the roof overhead. She knew they were mostly illusions created by the box that Dani never let her touch, but the real pieces mixed would hurt nonetheless if they managed to connect. The warehouse around her was torn up and Haru stumbled over one of the destroyed crates and rolled aside just in time to avoid Dani's knife. She kicked out hard and sent the redhead skidding across the floor before pulling herself up, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.

Dani slammed into the wall and Haru flinched at the sound, but Dani shook it off and rose, nearly falling again as soon as she attained her feet. "Okay, enough," Dani said, her own breath coming hard and fast.

"But we've only been practicing for an hour…" Haru said, despite having some trouble catching her breath she barely felt tired at all, maybe the long runs she'd started up in the morning were helping her more than she thought.

"I'm beat, I had three jobs to take care of last night," Dani said. "Let's do something else for the rest of your lesson."

"Like what?" Haru asked warily, she straightened but didn't relax—she'd learned that lesson a few too many times.

"Like storm watching," Dani said. "It looks like it's going to be a good night."

"Good night for what?" Haru frowned.

"You've got some natural talent as a hitman, Miura-san," Dani said, "you've advanced by leaps and bounds over this time I've been teaching you. You can't have that much talent and not have a flame of some form at your disposal."

"Flame?" Haru repeated and her eyes widened. "Like a Dying Will Flame?"

"Exactly," Dani said. "Mine's what you would call a Storm flame."

The ring on the middle finger of her right hand flared red and Haru's eyes widened. "But…I've seen you…"

"Some people have the ability to use more than their 'born' flame," Dani said. "I'm one of them. The Tenth Vongola Storm Guardian is another. It isn't always the ones who possess the Storm flames that can do it, but a lot of them are—likely because elements such as rain, lightning, and clouds all mix together to make up a storm."

"So how do you propose to find my Flame?" Haru asked warily.

"Someone I work with from time to time has found a way to draw the flames out," Dani said, "but it takes certain circumstances in order to use. Tonight's perfect."

"How can you tell what Flame is mine?" Haru asked curiously even as she gathered her jacket, even as she kept an eye on the other girl.

"Color," Dani said, pulling on her own jacket and heading for the door after grabbing her familiar backpack. "Every Dying Will Flame has a very specific color. Orange signifies the Sky flame, which is the rarest Flame, usually only Bosses have it—in fact, your Boss, Sawada Tsunayoshi, possesses one. The Rain flame is blue; Yamamoto-san holds that one. Red, the Storm flame, is held by Gokudera-san. Green is the Lightning Flame; I think I saw the cow boy that hangs out with Sawada Tsunayoshi show that one. Yellow is the Sun Flame, that's Sasagawa-san's brother, the boxer…I can never remember his name…"

"Ryohei," Haru provided automatically.

"I'll try and remember that," Dani said. "The other colors are purple, which is the Cloud Flame—Hibari Kyoya holds that one if I remember correctly, and indigo, which is held by the ones who control the Mist—I don't think I've ever seen the Vongola Mist Guardian."

Haru's mind went back to ten years in the future and she remembered that it was Chrome's ring that was indigo or the tall scary one that wore his hair like Chrome's, but she wasn't going to provide information that Dani didn't appear to already hold.

"Anyway, shall we head to the park? It'll probably work for this and it'll be close to your house so you don't have quite as far to go," Dani said, already starting to move away.

"S-sure," Haru said, nervousness was trying to gather in the pit of her stomach…she had no idea what this technique was going to require of her.

"Don't worry, it shouldn't hurt…too much," Dani said, glancing over her shoulder.

"Hahi…" Haru mumbled, shivering as the wind picked up as they passed into the open area beyond the warehouse.

"If you want to be everything you can be to protect them the way you seem determined to do, you have to use _every _weapon in your arsenal," Dani said. "Dying Will Flames, your hands and feet, your weapons, your brain, your body…everything. If you neglect to train even one aspect of yourself, you will fail at the most critical moment and _everything_ will change."

Haru's breath caught at the bleak undertone of Dani's voice and she moved to match her stride with the red head. "You sound like you know that from experience…" Haru said softly.

Dani shot a glare at her. "It doesn't matter. I'm your tutor, not your friend. I don't need a shoulder to cry on. I got over it a long time ago."

"But—" Haru began.

"Drop it."

The harsh tone in Dani's voice shut Haru up and she simply paced silently beside her. Haru's eyes went up to the clouds and she watched the lightning flash through them and felt a tingle starting at the base of her neck and moving downwards to her fingertips.

Dani watched the brunette as they made their way along the familiar pathways, running her thumb over the bands of the various rings on her fingers. The pressure in the air said the brewing storm was going to be breathtaking. As they got closer to the park a rumble of thunder shook the air and Haru jumped, a soft exclamation escaping from her. "Don't tell me you're afraid of a little storm, Miura-san," Dani said, her eyes lighting with amusement.

"Even if Haru _is_ afraid of a 'little storm', it doesn't change anything," Haru stated.

"Let's test that," Dani said and pulled out a gun and checked it over carefully, flipping it open and casually checking the barrel and snapping it shut.

She lifted the gun and pointed it at Haru's head and the girl froze. "Hahi?"

"The Vongola have a lot of really interesting bullets, I've never actually tried to use any of the ones that I managed to acquire," she said. "You saw them when your Boss was first learning about his abilities. I have to admit it was pretty amusing to see Vongola Judaime running around in just his boxers saying and doing stupid things."

"You saw that?" Haru asked.

Dani smirked. "Who in Namimori didn't? Thankfully people have a habit of removing unpleasant things from their memories if they really want to and your boss can still walk around Namimori with his head up."

Haru's eyes narrowed; there was something in the undertone of Dani's voice she really didn't like. Dani cocked the weapon and then sighed and lowered it, returning it to its normal state and clicking the safety back into place. "Unfortunately, as much as I would like to see what the bullets do, I'm not sure how they work from a normal gun," she said, "and I'd rather not wind up accidentally killing you and bringing that particular wrath down on my head. Plus it's a job not a hobby."

"H-hobby?" Haru repeated.

"Yeah, some people kill people for fun," Dani said, "I'm not one of them."

She put the gun up and went into her backpack, pulling out a set of rings soldered together with a metal cuff held on by a chain. "Here's how we'll find your Flame. I couldn't call myself any kind of decent hitman home tutor if I didn't at least touch on the Dying Will Flames. This thing works best when the air is ionized by a storm. Give me your hand."

Haru reluctantly held her hand out and Dani stepped in closer and secured the rings on her hand and extended the chain out until she could clasp the metal cuff around Haru's wrist. "When you're ready there's a button on the cuff that you can activate. It's not going to be comfortable and if you aren't at a point where you can produce Dying Will Flames we're not going to get very far tonight."

"It's heavy," Haru said.

"Think of it like a weight like what you've been using in your morning runs," Dani said.

"Hahi!"

Dani smirked. "Don't ever think I am not keeping track of what you're doing Miura-san. In order to teach you better, I need to know about you so I can tailor the teaching regime to what will work best for you. That's why I'm one of the best."

Haru nodded slowly, feeling a little bit uneasy at the revelation, but she had to learn and Dani was her best option right now. She reached and pressed the button, her breath hissing out as the current shot through her arm and through her body causing her heart to stutter for an instant before there was another flare.

Haru dodged Dani's attack, rolling out of the way and coming up and blocking the next punch with the arm that held the device. Haru could hear the device beeping and felt the whir of machinery vibrating against her wrist. She bounded back and jumped on top of the tunnel as Dani came at her again and then sprang at the smaller woman, tackling her to the ground. Dani reversed their positions and Haru slammed into the sand, the breath forced out of her lungs. The arm weighted down by the device came up and blocked the next attack and green flared from one of the rings and Dani rolled off and sprang back, her shoulders heaving. "I should've known," she said with a laugh. "Turn it off as soon as you're able, Miura-san."

Haru hauled herself up and caught one of the poles of the swing set and spent several moments catching her breath before reaching and hitting the button again. The tingling in her arm began to lessen and the shackle separated of its own accord. Dani closed the distance between them and pulled the device off while Haru watched her warily.

"I'll bring you the analysis later for what it's worth," Dani said and dropped the item back into her backpack.

Haru rubbed her wrist, flinching a bit at the burns that were left behind from the edges of the cuff and rings—how in the world was she going to explain this one to her father. Dani led her to the drinking fountain and turned on the water, letting the liquid run over the injuries for several minutes and then led Haru to a bench under a streetlight.

"Here," Dani said and extracted the first aid kit from the bag.

She applied antibiotic ointment to the nine minor burns and wrapped Haru's arm and fingers in a bandage. "You can just tell people you were helping me cook something and I screwed something up and you got burned," Dani advised quietly.

"Hahi?"

"You were trying to figure out how you'd explain the injury to your dad and friends, right?" Dani asked. "The best lies hold a grain of truth at their source. I really am pretty bad when it comes to cooking."

Haru couldn't help the giggle that escaped her at the revelation and Dani finished securing the wrapping.

Dani caught her good hand and lifted it and dropped a ring into her palm. "It's only an E-Ranked ring, but it'll be a good starter for you."

"E-Rank?" Haru repeated.

Dani nodded and settled back on her heels, looking up at her. "The rings that are circulating have a rating system that goes from E to A. E is the lowest ranking ring, a beginner's ring or the ring of one who doesn't have the ability to utilize higher level flames. A is, of course, the best of those particular rings. Sawada Tsunayoshi and his Guardians have Vongola Rings—those rings are superior to even the A-class rings, but are quite picky about who utilizes them. As your potential develops, don't be surprised if your rings break when you're using them—if the Flames are too strong they'll shatter."

"Hahi!"

Dani rose to her feet. "I'm going to be out of town for the next couple days," she announced. "By the time I get back, I want you to be able to harness the waves in your body and produce a Flame with that ring."

"How?" Haru asked looking at the item in her hand.

"Beats me, I pretty much picked up a ring and produced a Flame when I was given my first one," Dani shrugged. "However, from what I understand, one's resolve can play a lot into the ability to manifest the Flames. So show me your resolve, Miura-san. I want to see you ignite that ring by the time I get back. _Ja ne._"

Haru watched Dani leave and rose from the bench and slipped the ring on one of her uninjured fingers and looked at it for a long time until the first drop of rain hit the ring before rolling into a deluge.

Up on the roof at lunch the next day, Haru huddled in the shelter of the doorway as the rain continued to pour down. She examined the ring from all sides, trying to figure out just exactly she was supposed to do. She slipped the ring on her finger, but felt nothing except the cool metal against her skin. "You couldn't have at least tried to explain the waves you're talking about, Dani?" Haru grumbled and settled against the doorway and closed her eyes.

Dani hadn't been in school today as expected, so it was a rare day where Haru could concentrate on her friends and schoolwork rather than keeping an eye on the redhead or being pulled into an isolated area of the school for practice of some form. However, she'd still begged off eating lunch with her friends saying that she had some homework to catch up on and they'd understood for the most part. Haru knew that they were starting to get a bit resentful that she wasn't spending time with them, but so much of her usually boundless energy was being channeled into learning to be a hitman she didn't have a whole lot left over for anything else.

Haru kept her eyes closed and started to concentrate on her breath, focusing on the meditation she used to calm her nerves before a gymnastics competition. She focused on the feel of the breath moving in and out of her body and thought about how it was almost like waves in the ocean rolling in and out as needed. There it was, something that she could feel just subtly and she traced it automatically, feeling it synchronize with her breathing. She focused on the ring and thought about how she had resolved to become useful to Tsuna and to protect everyone and firmed that resolve. There was a crackle and something seemed to light up on the ring and her eyes widened.

Then her phone rang.

Haru jumped and pulled it out, grumbling a bit and nearly fumbling it when she saw Kyoko's name. "Hi, Kyoko!" she said cheerfully.

"Hi Haru! How are you?" Kyoko asked. "I've been so busy with school and everything I haven't seen you in forever! Is everything going all right?"

"Yes, everything is fine," Haru said cheerfully.

"We're on lunch right now; you can talk too, right?" Kyoko asked anxiously.

Haru couldn't help but giggle. "If I couldn't talk, I wouldn't have picked up the phone. I'm on lunch too."

The girls chattered happily with each other until the bell rang signaling the end of Kyoko's lunch and after agreeing to meet up for shopping and to go check on Tsuna-san's mom, Haru hung up, savoring the moment of normalcy—it felt like it had been so long since she'd had a 'normal' day.

Her eyes clouded and turned in the direction of Tsuna's home. "Did you feel this way to Tsuna-san, when you were doing all that training you never told us about?" she asked the empty air.

Haru met up with Kyoko at the appointed place and the girls hugged each other tightly and Kyoko pulled back, eyes meeting Haru's. "Are you okay, Haru-chan?" Kyoko asked worriedly. "Your hand…"

"It's okay, I was helping a classmate with our HomeEc project and one of the measurements were off and it boiled over a bit," Haru beamed at her. "I'm fine though, promise. Especially since we can go out and shop together today. Cake first?"

Kyoko hesitated, it wasn't self-appreciation day, but a little extra cake now and then didn't hurt. "Yes," she smiled and the two girls dashed off.

Dani stood in the shadow of one of the buildings and watched her student run off. "Show me some progress, Miura-san, or this is going to get boring," she murmured.

Silently, Dani moved away, and started putting together her plans. She'd heard rumors that Judaime would soon be returning to Namimori proper and she had things to do.


	7. Preparation! It's Nearly Final Exams

**AUTHOR's NOTE: **I actually don't have a lot of notes to add to this today except that we're nearing the halfway point of the story.

Thank you so much for sticking with me.

As always, KHR & the affiliated characters don't belong to me, but the original cast and current story line do.

See you next week ^_^

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**Target 06: Preparation! It's Nearly Final Exams **

Haru arrived at the warehouse several minutes late and entered warily, shocked when she wasn't immediately attacked. Her eyes moved over the interior, hunting for her tutor, but she hadn't seen her yet. Tsuna-san was back in town, but there was something else going on and with Haru's own training, she hadn't been able to find time to do more than say hi in passing as they headed to school. She wasn't quite sure what to do with herself, she wasn't sure she was ready for Tsuna-kun to see the changes in her—if he could. Dani told her that she'd changed quite a bit and it was starting to show and after her day with Kyoko and her best friend's quiet questions, Haru was worried. Kyoko had also told her that all of them were distracted still despite having come back from whatever thing had drawn them away from Namimori.

She wandered the warehouse aimlessly for a while, wondering if Dani was actually late for once. She ran across a pile of fabric and make-up on the table and she frowned. "It's final exam time."

The words echoed and Haru turned to see Dani perched on one of the piles of boxes that had been empty only moments before. "Hahi?"

The redhead jumped down from the boxes landing on her feet and straightening. "The cherry blossoms will be in season soon and you'll be entering your third year of school," Dani said. "Wouldn't it be better to get this out of the way so you can properly study for your high school of choice?"

Haru's eyes went wide as she realized that Dani was right—she'd been so occupied with everything else, she hadn't really noticed the time passing. "What is my final exam?" Haru asked slowly, her fingers running over the fabric idly.

"You have one week," Dani said, holding up a red-tipped finger. "That week will be prep time; though don't be surprised at a couple pop quizzes. You will hone your ability to disguise yourself with make-up and clothing—more effectively than when you were trying to test your dear Sawada Tsunayoshi—and continue to train the other skills you've acquired with me. Your exam will be over a forty-eight hour period after that week. I will inform you the day before. You can and will be attacked at any point in time by either myself or a few others who have agreed to help me with this over that forty-eight hour period. If you manage to survive, I will consider you a rookie hitman and you will no longer be required to participate in nightly practice with me."

"Then what happens?" Haru asked.

"What you do with yourself after the exam doesn't matter to me, Miura-san, our contract will be over," Dani shrugged. "I am going to be leaving soon to take care of a few things that I've been putting off to see this thing through. Good luck—you'll need it."

With that, Dani vanished and Haru settled herself slowly in the chair, her eyes going around the warehouse slowly as the memories of these last grueling weeks ran through her mind.

_Final exam…_

Haru shivered and then straightened. "Haru will pass," she stated firmly and turned her attention to the fabric and make-up.

Haru woke the next morning and turned over and looked at her alarm and shot straight up out of bed. "Hahi! Haru's going to be late!"

She nearly jumped into her school uniform, barely taking time to wash her face and brush her teeth before she raced down the stairs and out the door. Even though she couldn't manage to light the flame every time, she felt a little bit better with it on her hand. She needed to learn how to use the Flame better before her final exam or it was going to be next to impossible to survive.

Butterflies kicked up in her stomach at the thought, but she shoved them down and focused on the things at hand.

On the way to school, Haru slowed her steps about three blocks away and frowned a bit. Someone was following her. A quick glance around didn't identify anyone suspicious, but she could feel something just on the edge of her mind. She ducked into a crowd and then circled around a building to come back through the alley and glanced out. A person was stopped and looking around with an almost frantic air and Haru's eyes narrowed. "Found you," she said softly.

She picked up a couple stones from the ground as the ring started sparking. She carefully aimed for the confused person who suddenly looked in her direction and let the rocks fly, hitting him directly in the head before she bounded away and took cover behind one of the trash dumpsters.

"The Vongola bitch was over here, I saw her."

Haru's eyes narrowed. _Vongola…bitch? Tsuna-san would be furious to hear that, but not more than I am…_

She pulled out a couple of the cards she'd finally talked Dani into letting her use, just to see how they worked and concentrated on the ring again, causing more sparks to trace up the find grooves on the cards and then she sprang out. "Right here," she snarled and flung the cards at their feet and watched only a moment to make sure they detonated before she bolted off.

She dodged through a few other areas and then hit a wall and whirled around seeing the two men, now bloodied up stalking towards her. "Got you," one of the men growled.

"Nowhere left to run," the other smirked.

"Who said I wanted to run?" Haru asked softly and pulled the hairsticks out of her hair and flung both of them.

Neither realized what was happening until the sticks sliced the sides of their necks only to clatter on the ground.

"What's that supposed to do, bi—"

The man's words cut off midsentence as he suddenly froze in place and crashed to the ground in front of her with his companion. Haru hurried by the two still forms and gathered her hair pins and put the caps back on and slipped them into her hair. "Knock out drug?"

Haru jumped and saw Dani landing on the wall above where she'd been trapped.

"Haru won't kill if she doesn't have to, Dani," she said. "This works just as well or better. They're not going to remember a thing. Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she said and dropped down lightly onto the ground.

Like Haru, she was dressed in their school uniform with the school approved bag in hand.

"I was heading there when I saw these guys," Haru said, "I was already running late anyway."

"I suppose we can say that we took the same bus and there was an unexpected delay," Dani said. "Shall we? We've got a math test just before lunch."

"Hahi?"

Dani cocked her head at her and then laughed. "You forgot, didn't you?"

"What's it over?" Haru asked as they began to return to their route to school.

Dani rattled off the material and Haru breathed an inward sigh of relief, most of it was just review.

They arrived to class and made their apologies and excuses and were allowed to take their seats.

They made it through the test and to lunch and Haru practically collapsed on the roof as shaking set in.

"Are you all right, Miura-san?" Dani asked, worry tingeing her voice.

"F-fine," Haru managed.

"Ah," Dani said and plopped down on the roof beside her. "Welcome to the world of hitmen, Miura-san. Nothing is ever going to be the same again."

"I know that," Haru said, inadvertently dropping the usual third person she referred to herself in. "This is just the first time…"

"It won't be the last," Dani said. "How are your studies progressing?"

Haru looked up at Dani through a screen of bangs. "I suppose you'll have to see next week, won't you?" she said.

For a moment Dani looked stunned and then a throaty laugh echoed. "I see, holding something in reserve, Miura-san?" she asked.

"You're one of my teachers, but you will also be one of my opponents, _ne_?" Haru asked.

"Well, yes…"

"Then it's better if Haru doesn't tell you, isn't it?" the brunette said.

Dani laughed again. "You're starting to pick up on some of the more subtle nuances of this world. Good for you, Miura-san."

Haru turned her attention to her lunch and focused on what was coming next.

After school, she met up with Kyoko and Chrome and smiled at I-pin. "Hi," she said cheerfully.

"Haru-chan," Kyoko beamed. "Chrome and I-Pin wanted to join us today."

Haru smiled. "Let's go," she said.

As they were walking she felt like something was drilling into the back of her head, it didn't feel murderous, but it felt…

She turned and met Chrome's single purple eye and her own widened as their gazes crashed for a moment.

Kyoko and I-Pin left the house to run to the store for something they'd forgotten and Chrome and Haru were left at the table to wait. "When?"

Chrome's voice echoed in the silence and Haru glanced up sharply.

"When what?" Haru asked.

Chrome Dokuro shook her head. "Don't try and play innocent, Haru-san," she said softly. "This close to you, it is impossible not to feel the change."

"What change?" Haru asked faintly.

"The change to the way you carry yourself, the way you're always looking around like trouble is coming, the way that you keep fiddling with that ring you're wearing," Chrome said. "Kyoko has probably noticed too, but she's far too good at pretending she's not seeing anything—the way she always does for Boss and her brother."

Haru hesitated for a long time before deciding that maybe she could confide in Chrome, after all, Chrome was Tsuna-san's Mist Guardian. "I…" she swallowed. "Don't tell Tsuna-san yet? I want to do it myself…when I'm done."

"Done with what?" Chrome asked.

"Training."

The dark-haired girl's eye widened and then everything came tumbling out of Haru's mouth before she could stop it.

At the end of the story, silence fell between them and they heard the front door open and Kyoko and I-Pin chattering.

"We will talk more later, Haru-san," Chrome said. "I won't tell Boss. For now."

Haru lowered her head. "Thank you."

"Do you want me to train with you?" Chrome asked.

Haru's eyes widened. "Would you?"

Chrome smiled. "Yes. It will give me something else to focus on."

Haru saw a shadow pass over the girl's face, but she had a feeling that Chrome wasn't really willing to talk about it at this point.

Haru sat on the roof a few days later, her eyes going out over the school grounds. She and Chrome had only been able to practice for a few days before the other girl suddenly became ill and was unable to help anymore. Kyoko had assured Haru she was looking after Chrome, but Haru was still worried. "You don't have time to worry about the girl you've been practicing with, Miura-san."

Haru jumped and turned and saw Dani leaning against the doorjamb, watching her with an inscrutable expression. "Your final exam starts after midnight tonight," she said. "You won't have anyone to help you anymore. Be prepared for anything."

As she was walking down the stairs Haru realized that she wasn't wearing her Midori Middle School uniform anymore.


	8. Finals! Haru's Talent in Full Bloom

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Hello there and welcome to the weekly update to Haru's Resolve. Thank you so much for reading this little story of mine, I appreciate it more than you would ever know.

Right now, I am converting my mother and sister into Katekyo Hitman Reborn! fans...I am forcing them to watch a few episodes every time I go over to their house and so far the conversion is working-this makes me happy ^_^ I really love this series for some reason (though it's always hard for me to wade through the first 17 or so episodes-usually I pick up my rewatch when Fuuta shows up the first time).

Anyway, as always, Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and the characters thereof belong to Akira Amano. The original characters created by me and the storyline are mine.

Please Read & Review ^_^

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**Target 07: Finals! Haru's Talent in Full Bloom**

Haru's eyes snapped open, going to her clock and reading the time and immediately rolling to the side as a shadow engulfed her. She hit the floor and came up with one of her fans, glaring at the shrouded form over her bed. "Leave my Father out of this," she growled and the fan slammed into the person's temple and they fell like a sack of potatoes.

There was a sound outside of her door and it swung open revealing her father's form. "Haru…"

"Hahi…he…he came into my room!"

Haru let tears well up in her eyes, presenting a frightened face to her father, even as she analyzed the rest of the shadows in the room for further trouble. She ran to her father who embraced her and they retreated to his room where he made a phone call to the police about the break-in.

They waited for the police and when they went to her room the figure was gone, but there was at least some evidence left behind that they collected and she told her father she'd sleep in the living room the rest of the night with the lights and TV on, which he agreed to.

Before dawn, Haru grabbed a bag and stuffed her clothes and weapons into it and left a note on her bed to her father, that she was going to help a friend and that it might be a few days before she came back. She knew that he would likely demand answers when she returned, but she didn't want her father pulled into this, he already had more than enough to worry about and he wasn't the one in training to be a hitman.

She emerged just as the sun peaked over the horizon and debated on where to go and uncertainly hauled out her phone and sent a text to Chrome, asking if she could crash at her place for a little while. She didn't know if she'd get a response back, Kyoko had said that Chrome hadn't been doing well. If she didn't get a response from Chrome, she'd have to find somewhere else to try and get some rest. To her surprise, her phone chimed with a response and she pulled it out and breathed a sigh of relief. Chrome gave her permission to stay over and Haru switched her direction and caught the necessary bus to get her to Chrome's new apartment.

She arrived to find the apartment empty, but the extra key exactly where Chrome told her and unlocked the door. The apartment still had a few boxes scattered about and barely looked lived in, but Chrome hadn't been there very long yet. She was still irritated with Chrome's Mukuro-sama for kicking her out, but, right now, she was grateful—it meant she had a place where she could keep everyone else out of the next thirty-six hours of trouble.

She skipped school that day, heading to the lingerie shop that Dani had taken her to in order to get to the underground center, but found it closed and she sighed. She needed to figure out a few more things and likely the things down there would be of great help—though she wasn't sure the old lady would take her down there again.

"So, we meet again, Miura-san."

Haru immediately recognized the melodious voice and turned to see Akai moving towards her. "Shall we find some place a little less populated?" Akai inquired, a smile on her painted lips.

"Why?" Haru asked, reeling just a bit at the woman's appearance.

"I'm your opponent right now," Akai said, "and I know that you and your family don't really enjoy involving bystanders, but if you'd like to start right here…"

"Hahi! No…this way," Haru said and took off running, her mind going through her options and she turned left and then right a few streets up heading into one of the large wooded parks that would be mostly empty right now because of school.

She hit the park first, not sure how far behind her Akai was and managed to swing herself up into the trees just as the woman came into view. Haru moved as quietly as she could, figuring out the best place to attack and scrambled back as a piece of metal cut through the tree and buried itself in the trunk.

"Your camouflage needs work, Miura-san," Akai said.

Haru's eyes shot down to the other woman and she could swear she saw a smile hovering on her opponent's lips. Haru moved a bit more and pulled out another one of Dani's 'playing cards' and put on her ring and flung the item at her before immediately dropping to the ground and pulling out one of the knives that Dani had talked her into practicing with and keeping on her. She used the knife to knock the next hair pin out of the sky and then dropped down and rolled, her breath catching as several small sharp objects buried themselves in her arm. She could feel burning warmth spreading from them and ran for cover, yanking them out as quickly as she could. If there was poison, she was going to be in a great deal of trouble very soon. Thankfully, while it was still painful, the burning stopped and Haru found herself face-to-face with Akai and realized the other woman was bleeding from a few injuries as well. "You're lucky you didn't hit my face, Miura-san," Akai said. "I may have had to have gotten angry at you then and taken this far more serious."

"Don't make the mistake of not taking me seriously," Haru snapped, not even noticing she dropped the third person again.

She pulled a series of pins out and they spread like a deck of cards and Haru sent them flying in Akai's direction, anticipating the direction she was going to dodge by a minute movement on the right side and she slammed her shoulder into Akai's midsection and was promptly sent to the ground as the other woman's knee found her stomach. Haru choked a bit, trying not to throw up and managed to fling herself out of the way of the next attack and got to her feet heavily. She realized an instant after she got up that Akai was having some trouble moving as well and so she launched herself at her and Akai's hand connected with her face and sent her flying again. "Don't just judge things with your eyes, Miura-san, you never know when an opponent may be faking it," Akai advised and came at her again.

Haru got to her feet barely in time to get out of the way and took advantage of the other woman's all-out attack and managed to get her foot out to trip her and brought her good hand down, hitting the nerve ending that momentarily froze the woman in place and then she scrambled to tie her up, standing up and staggering back a few steps.

Akai managed to get control of her body and rolled, somehow managing to sit up despite her injuries and the ropes. "You did well, Miura-san, you pass. Come to visit any time and I will give you a few more lessons. You're missing a few things."

Haru wanted to ask if she was going to be all right, but she staggered and was caught by a familiar dead-eyed, pink-haired girl. "Bara?" she whispered.

The girl didn't answer and simply began to drag her away.

Haru was too weak to fight her on it.

"Well, your body is definitely in better condition than the first time you were brought to me," Dr. Tanpopo observed, "but you've taken a bit of damage."

"Haru will be fine," Haru said firmly. "There's still another thirty-two hours to go."

"One of the things to also remember, Miura-san, is that sometimes the best battles are those you manage to avoid," Tanpopo said and Haru saw the yellow light spring up again. "Your determination to meet everything head-on is adorable, but it will get you killed faster than you can progress. There is no shame in running away and living to fight another day. Some jobs take more time than others to be properly executed."

"This treatment has been paid for," Tanpopo said a little while later as she finished the last bandage. "Remember what I said. My test for you is that you will have no further injuries beyond what you've already gotten in the next twenty-four hours."

"Haru will do her best," Haru said.

Tanpopo shook her head. "The correct answer is 'I won't', Miura-san," the doctor said firmly. "Don't forget there are other skills you have that aren't focused around your weapons. You don't want to be a one-dimensional hitman—that will be the death warrant for you and anyone you are trying to protect."

"Y-yes," Haru stuttered and stood up. "Can I go?"

Tanpopo laughed. "No, you may not. You'll be staying here for at least another four hours. Sleep and recover what you can. They won't find you here."

Haru blinked and stared a little at Tanpopo. "I've figured out what family you belong to. I won't mind them owing me a favor someday."

Idly, Haru wondered what Tsuna-san would think of all these favors that the family was going to owe to the various people in Japan because of her. She curled up a bit on the bed and closed her eyes; she would have to make Tsuna understand—eventually.

The lights came on and Haru rolled to her feet immediately, one of the hair pins in hand and lightning sparking off the ring. She flinched as she jarred her body and met the amused eyes of Dr. Tanpopo. "_Santuario_," she said and Haru made a questioning sound. "It means sanctuary in Italian. That's what this place is. It was actually designed by someone your boss would know a bit more about. Time out is over though."

Haru collected her things.

"They haven't figured out where you vanished to yet, so you should be all right. There's another twenty hours on the timer. Hang in there," Tanpopo said.

Haru nodded and left the clinic through one of the back exits that Yuri directed her to and slipped into the milling crowds. She stopped over at a cart and bought something to eat and settled down at the table and ate quietly, contemplating what her next move was going to be.

She finished eating and collected her bag and found herself intercepted by a tall man in a suit. "Tell me, are you Miura Haru-san?" he asked.

She composed herself and shook her head. "I'm afraid you're mistaken," she said, proud her voice didn't tremble on the lie.

She walked away with a measured stride even though all she really wanted to do was run, but if she ran, he may get suspicious and come after her. There were too many people around and she was still hurting, though far less than before she'd gone to Dr. Tanpopo, and she'd told the doctor she'd stay uninjured as much as she could.

She ducked into a public restroom and into one of the stalls and silently went through her bag, going through everything she had and changed her clothing. A blond wig came out of the bag and she brushed it into an appropriate style and put on her wig cap. After the wig was on and all of her other clothing was stuff back into the bag she got out of the stall and went to one of the murky mirrors and applied make-up with a steady hand. She worked quietly and finished, putting her hair pins into place and leaving just as another person was coming in.

Haru purposely stayed away from all of her regular haunts as well as the secondary places she always went, though she couldn't quite keep away from Tsuna's house. She passed it near dusk and gasped in horror, the roof had been partially wrecked and the front yard was torn up like there'd been a fight in it. "Tsuna-san…" she whispered.

"I knew you'd come here."

Haru's eyes widened in horror and she sprang back barely in time to avoid one of Dani's exploding playing cards. "You're frightfully predictable when it comes to this one," Dani said, emerging into the light. "It could be considered a fatal flaw if people know you well enough, which I have learned over these past few weeks. The disguise is good though, I only knew it was you because I've worked with you for so long. However, this is the last part of your final. I'm afraid Sawada Tsunayoshi will be visiting more than the Shimon Famiglia in the hospital."

"Who?" Haru gaped, even as she dodged the next attack.

"Kozato Enma-san and his Famiglia," Dani said.

Haru dodged again, remembering another park nearby. There likely wouldn't be children there at this time of day so she could hopefully avoid creating any more damage in the neighborhood itself.

"You are predictable, Miura-san."

Haru turned just barely in time to keep the full force of Dani's blow from slamming into her and she moved to avoid the second blow she knew was coming.

"As a hitman you can't let paltry things like outsiders and property damage get in the way of your hit," Dani said, pressing in relentlessly.

"Tsuna-san would worry about that," Haru said and ducked under the next blow and whirled around landing a solid kick between Dani's shoulderblades and sending the other girl sprawling.

"Press your advantage, Miura-san. She's on the ground, you can eliminate her now."

Haru froze at the sound of the voice. "But—"

Madame Cho stepped out from behind the wall. "You're still too soft for this world, but so is your future boss. Remember, elimination doesn't mean you have to kill her, it means you need to disable her, make her unable to fight. If you can do that for the next eight hours, your exam will be over."

Haru's hands tightened into fists and Dani rose turning to smirk at her. "Too soft, just like your boss. That is why he is going to be one of the worst Bosses in the history of the Mafia—once a loser, always a loser."

"Tsuna-san is not a loser," Haru snarled and launched an all-out attack on the redhead.

Moments later, it was over. Dani had slammed into one of the walls and had slumped. "Hahi…" Haru said and rushed forward.

"She'll be fine; her pride is the worst part of her injury I think."

"Dr. Tanpopo?" Haru repeated as the butter-haired woman emerged from behind Madame Cho.

The doctor moved over to Dani's motionless form and looked her over quickly. A piercing whistle echoed and a black car pulled around the corner and a large man in a suit that Haru immediately recognized as the one who had asked her if she was Haru Miura in the café got out. Her weapons immediately came to bear and the man regarded her with amusement in his dark eyes. "You passed my part of the exam; I've nothing further to do with this, Miura-san. You did _exactly_ what you were supposed to do."

He moved over to the redhead and lifted her carefully. "To the clinic, Tanpopo?"

"Yes," the doctor said and turned to Haru with a smile. "Congratulations."

The two drove away after securing Dani in the car and Haru felt her body start to tremble. "From now on, Miura-san, it would be best if you came to myself or Dr. Tanpopo for further training," Madame Cho said quietly.

"But, I—"

"We will not be charging you for this service," the Madame said with a smile. "We owe a debt of nine generations to your Famiglia. Dani has taught you what she can, but she won't—or perhaps can't—understand your purpose in stepping onto this path. Dani is a freelance hitman, everything she does is for money and she does it the quickest and most cost-effective way possible. If you want to learn to protect, come to us. Think about it, I will meet you in three days' time at the café where you met Kashiwagi."

"Kashiwagi?" Haru blinked.

"The big man that was with Tanpopo just now," Madame Cho said. "For now, enjoy your victory and relax a little. Your boss is going to need that unfettered smile of yours soon…"

Haru's eyes went to the Madame, but she seemed to vanish. _What's going on with Tsuna-san?_

Her eyes went to the house and she bit her lip. She couldn't go there like this though, she'd have to explain the bruises and everything and now wasn't the time for it. She turned herself towards her house and marched there resolutely.

She slipped into the empty house and heard nothing and her eyes went to the clock. Her father wouldn't be back from the university until late tonight, she had time to clean up and get some studying in.

Haru went up to her room and secured her things and headed to the bath.


	9. Discovery! Answers Demanded, Not Given

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Well, here we go, chapter eight is ready to go. I worked hard and spent a lot of time tweaking this chapter when I originally wrote it to make sure that I was able to make it blend in with what's going on in the manga at this time (this is the tail end of the "Representative Battle of the Rainbow" Arc-the final chapters of the Katekyo Hitman Reborn! manga). I actually worked really hard with this whole story to make it fit as much as possible into what was going on in the manga during the last two arcs that weren't animated, but this one has dialogue directly lifted from the scanlation.

Finally, I got around to explaining what happened to Haru's mom and why her dad is a single parent (sort of at least ^_^)

I apologize that I didn't get this up last week, I'll try and be more prompt with the next chapters. My computer contracted an annoying virus and it was in the shop and I had a bunch of other stuff crop up. I try not to let real life get in the way, but sometimes it happens.

This month is Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) and I am devoting myself to an original story, but everything coming up in this story just needs a bit of tweaking-though it's going to eat pretty heavily into my buffer. I'll have to do a lot of writing next month to keep things going.

As always, KHR doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Amano-sensei and I'm just borrowing the characters and world because it's fun to do so. The original characters and the story line dealing with Haru belongs to me (the dialogue lifted from the manga scanlations is not mine).

* * *

**Target 08: Discovery! Answers Demanded, but not Given**

Haru awakened the next morning and moaned softly, all her muscles were screaming in protest, but she couldn't let that keep her down. Today was the day that she returned to normal—or close to normal. She would have to figure out how to continue her training soon, but she had three days to rest before she had to make that decision. She forced herself from beneath the covers and dressed, going to the mirror and stiffly putting on the necessary make-up to cover up the bruises, she didn't want to have to answer the questions the injuries would bring up.

She took some painkillers that Tanpopo had given her and took a deep breath before making her way downstairs. To her surprise, her father was sitting at the breakfast table with his paper. "Father?" she gasped.

"Good morning, Haru-san," he said. "My morning class is canceled and I noticed your shoes by the door last night when I got home and so I thought we could have breakfast together before you go to school."

"Good morning," Haru said and went to the kitchen. "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Omelets will be good," her father smiled. "Is your friend all right?"

_Friend?_

"Oh, yes, she's doing a lot better now, I'm sorry I took off without asking for your permission," she said.

"Was your friend in such dire condition you felt the need to skip school these past two days?" her father asked.

"Hahi!" Haru couldn't help the sound that escaped her and she quickly composed herself. "Yes, she was in a very serious condition, we wound up having to take her to the hospital—Haru stayed at her apartment to watch over it while the doctors kept her for observation."

"You could have at least called to warn me about not going to school," her father said.

"H-haru's sorry, Haru didn't think about that," Haru said, her eyes clenching shut.

"Why do I have a feeling you are keeping secrets from me, Haru-san?"

Haru's eyes flew to her father who was watching her intently over the top of his paper. "I understand you are entering a time when your father will not be able to provide the guidance that your mother would have been able to if she were still with us today," he said quietly. "But don't lie to me anymore, Haru-san. I will wait until you're ready to tell me what you have been doing over this past month or so and I will not ask further questions, but, please, no more lies."

"Y-yes," Haru said, wilting just a bit.

She finished the breakfast preparations in silence and settled down across from her father to eat, but the food tasted like ash in her mouth though she forced every bit of it down. After breakfast, she gathered her bag and left, giving her father a subdued good-bye and hurried in the direction of school.

"Haru-chan!"

Haru jumped and turned and saw Kyoko racing towards her. She usually didn't see Kyoko until they were out of school, the other girl looked excited and Haru couldn't help but smile. "You're energetic this morning, Kyoko-chan," Haru said.

She smiled. "I got the omamori from Tsuna-kun," she said, displaying the beat-up good luck charm from so long ago. "And from Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto-kun. Remember we said we wanted to put more prayers in it for them because they're doing something dangerous?"

Haru searched her memory and her eyes widened as she remembered one of the brief conversations she'd had with Kyoko. "Yes, Haru remembers," she said.

"We have to do it today, after school, Tsuna-kun said he wants it back by tonight," Kyoko said. "We'll have to work very hard."

Haru managed to keep her smile. "Okay, Haru will meet you after school. Where at?"

"Can we meet at your house, Haru-chan? It's closest to Tsuna-kun's."

"Of course," Haru smiled and the two went off towards school, chatting excitedly until they had to part to go their separate ways.

As soon as Kyoko was out of sight, Haru's smile died a bit and she wondered what she'd missed in her friends' lives while she was wrapped up in what was going on with hers. She hadn't even known about the Shimon Famiglia until Dani had said something, though she remembered some passing comments from Kyoko about Kozato-san becoming friends with Tsuna-san, but she'd never actually met them.

She reached her classroom and entered and found Dani's usual seat empty and frowned a bit. "Shirokaia-san transferred back home," one of her classmates informed her. "If you'd been in school the last couple days you would have known."

"Hahi!"

Haru's eyes turned to her and she saw two of her friends glaring at her and she flushed. "Haru's sorry."

"What was going on with you and that girl anyway, Haru-chan, you were almost completely ignoring us," one demanded.

"You even skipped gymnastics club twice and gave lame excuses both times," the second girl stated.

"It's complicated," Haru said, trying to scramble for something plausible to tell them. "Haru's had a lot of things come up lately…"

"It's that time of year again isn't it?" the first girl suddenly said.

"Hahi?"

"The time of year your mother died," she said. "I've been your friend for a long time, Haru-chan. You always get a little odd at this time of year, though it was less noticeable over the past year when you were wrapped up with that No Good Tsuna from Namimori Middle and Kyoko Sasagawa."

"Tsuna-san is not 'no good', Mai!" Haru exclaimed.

Mai giggled. "Now that's the Haru we know best, isn't it, Emri?"

The other girl nodded, but then they both sobered. "Seriously, though Haru, if you need anything come to us. We're still here too you know, even if you've been spending so much time with Sasagawa-san and Sawada-san."

Haru smiled. "Thank you," she said.

She went back to her seat and looked at her school calendar and her eyes went wide as she realized that it really was near the anniversary of her mother's death in a car accident. Haru bit her lip; she'd been ten when her mother passed away. Tears welled up in her eyes as she contemplated what her mother was thinking of her now watching from the afterlife.

She paid attention in class like she hadn't in weeks and realized that she'd missed more than a few things, though she'd managed to keep her grades up after the initial slip in math. She was going to have to study hard to catch up and then figure out how she was going to balance the training she knew she still needed to do, her friends, her family, and school and not have to add any more lies on top of the ones she was already having to tell.

Haru declined lunch with her friends and promised they'd eat together the next day and went up to the roof where she'd met Dani the first time. She drew her knees up to her chest and stared distantly at the wall. She had to be able to do this for Tsuna-san, for Kyoko-chan, for I-Pin and Lambo—for everyone, she had to do it. She flopped back on the roof like she'd often seen Dani do and stared at the clouds moving through the blue sky. Haru also needed to know more about Tsuna-kun, the Vongola, and everything else that was going on so that she could position herself strategically to help him out the best that she could.

School and practice let out and she met Kyoko at the corner between their schools and smiled in relief to see Chrome with her as well. "I-Pin and Chrome-chan want to help too," Kyoko beamed.

"Sounds like fun. Let's stop for some cakes on the way, it'll make the work go faster," Haru suggested.

"Cake!" I-Pin's childish voice rose with excitement and the others agreed.

They arrived at Haru's house and ate cake and worked on restoring the omamori and adding in more prayers. In the back of her mind, Haru could feel dread gathering and her eyes went over in the direction of Tsuna-san's house. Something was going on.

"Success!" Kyoko said and smiled. "Let's get these to them immediately! They're all gathering at Tsuna-kun's house tonight."

Haru smiled and they got up and headed out the door.

Every step she took towards Tsuna-san's house brought her closer to the danger that she could sense heavily on the air, but she made herself keep moving forward—the others didn't really seem to be sensing it…except for Chrome who had an even more serious look on her face than usual.

"Tsuna-san and the others will be happy," Haru smiled.

"Yeah," Kyoko agreed, "I don't know what's going on, but I'm glad to help."

"Finally, you're here, I've been waiting for you," Bianchi said appearing in front of them with a relieved smile. "Let me take you in."

Haru's eyes went wide as she saw the street outside filled with men in black suits. "Anou…" she said. "Dino-san's subordinates, yes?"

Bianchi looked at her. "There are other people too," the woman said. "They were all summoned here, though they're not all going to fit in the house obviously. Look closely, you may recognize a few others."

"Summoned?" Kyoko asked.

Haru's eyes moved around and then went wide as she was suddenly conscious of the overwhelming amount of aura that emanated from all these men. She'd never really noticed it until now. "Scary people…"

"Basil-kun, Kozato-kun!" Kyoko exclaimed.

Haru's eyes moved to the table in the middle of the dining room and immediately spotted Basil and she assumed that Kozato was the red-haired boy their age next to him. Next to him was…Chrome-san's Mukuro-sama!

"Why is that person flying?"

Haru's eyes went to the sky and she saw the person that Kyoko was talking about and swallowed heavily at the overwhelming power emanating off him and so many of the others.

"Hibari-san is on the roof, sleeping…"

"Who are these people and why are they all gathered here?" Haru demanded finally, looking over at Bianchi.

Bianchi met her eyes and Haru gasped sharply as she saw something like recognition flash through Bianchi's eyes and somehow she knew that the pink-haired woman was on to her. "You could say that they are some scary people," Bianchi murmured, "summoning them is not something just anyone could do."

"Then…who did this?" Haru asked.

"He's right there," Bianchi said softly.

"Please. Fight with me."

Haru's eyes went wide as she landed on the short brunette boy in the middle of the massive gathering. _Tsuna-san._

"Once more, I'm going to explain the current situation…"

"Kyoko, Haru, let's go outside," Bianchi said. "Tsuna would probably want that."

Haru's hand clenched in the folds of her skirt as she fought wanting to burst back in there and tell Tsuna she could help too—it wasn't time for that, not yet. She hadn't trained enough.

"That reminds me…Reborn-san wasn't there…" Kyoko said softly.

Bianchi nodded. "This gathering is being kept secret from Reborn and the other Arcobaleno. Tsuna's wishes."

Haru's eyes went back to the closed door.

_One day Tsuna, I will be able to help you too. I swear._


	10. Secrets! Discoveries of the Past

**Author's Notes: **And now we begin the journey into "new territory" aka what's going on after the manga ends-or at least my variation. I hope you like it ^_^

As always, Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belongs to Akira Amano and I am just borrowing the world and the characters from it because it's fun. The original characters/families are mine as is the storyline.

Thank you to my readers who have been following this and please, tell other people about it, I have more to come.

~ Yuki Seki

* * *

**Target 09: Secrets! Discoveries of the Past**

Haru made it back home finally and found a note from her father on the table that he was going to be later than usual and that she should take care of dinner for herself tonight. She smiled wryly, she'd already had dinner with Kyoko-chan because the girls wanted to have some time together to come to terms with what they saw, even if they didn't actually discuss it too much before Kyoko decided to turn the conversation somewhere else. Kyoko puzzled Haru, she knew that Kyoko knew a lot more than she let everyone think she did, but she forever maintained that bright, innocent smile.

_I don't want to see that fade either._

The words ran through her mind and Haru jumped—she wasn't even sure where that observation had come from, but she knew that Tsuna did like Kyoko a lot and he did often talk about Kyoko's innocent smile.

Haru smiled wryly, something else starting to form in the back of her mind, but she wasn't ready to acknowledge it yet. She moved up the stairs debating between getting some homework done or just going to bed and getting up a bit earlier to take care of it, but her thoughts were brought to a screeching halt when she saw a wooden box carved with stylized nadeshiko flowers. "What…" she began and noticed the paper on top of it.

"_Haru-san, Fumiko planned to give this to you on your twentieth birthday and after she died I had resolved to keep it that long, but I have been visited by the urge to give this to you now. I do not know the contents, nor was I intended to know the contents as Fumiko kept it locked up even from me. However, I will present this to you now. Love, Father."_

Haru's eyes went to the key that she kept hanging on a ribbon over her dressing table, it had been a gift from her mother when she was eight and she'd been admonished to keep track of it always. She moved over to key, dropping her book bag on the table on the way and picking it up off the hook. Returning to the bed, she inserted the key into the lock and it clicked quietly and Haru opened it.

Inside was a bunch of mementos from her childhood, clay patties with tiny handprints, some of her first costumes, awards she'd won for contests, ribbons from gymnastics competitions, and all manner of things one would expect mothers to keep for their children. Haru's eyes filled with tears as she ran across a few of the pictures she'd been sure had disappeared when they moved from their old house after her mother's death. Silently she sorted through all of it and then realized something was odd about the box.

Frowning, she knocked on the bottom of it and heard it echo back.

"Hahi?" she gasped and then ran her fingers over the bottom trying to find the catch release to the false bottom, wondering if there was anything inside.

She'd nearly given up when she heard a nearly inaudible click as she gave it one last try and she pulled back. For a long moment, she hesitated before reaching and lifting out the false bottom and her eyes went wide.

Beneath was a kimono, lovingly wrapped up with all of the accessories, but as beautiful as everything was, Haru's eyes were arrested by the hair sticks…the hair sticks with the extremely sharp ends that rested over a small knife and her breath caught. With shaking hands she picked up the kimono and set it reverently aside. Beneath was a black book and beneath the book was a small delicate ring with a lightning bolt engraved on it.

"What in the world…" Haru whispered, pulling off the ring Dani had given her and setting it aside.

She slipped the silver ring on her finger and was stunned to find that it fit her perfectly. Silently, she concentrated and obligingly the green Dying Will Flames she was beginning to get some control over sparked to life. Under the ring was a note.

"_Haru-chan, if you've gotten to this part of the gift for your twentieth birthday I must have told you about my past or perhaps I am dead and you've managed to find the false bottom to the suitcase. Either way, I now need to inform you of your Mother's past and how it may or may not affect you in the future. I wasn't always just an elementary school teacher, and there is a chance, no matter how slight, it may come back to haunt you. Please take time and read the book I've left for you and be prepared."_

Haru flopped back onto her bed, staring at the note for a long time before reaching for the black book and opening it up to the first page.

"They call me Nadeshiko. I have another name, but it doesn't matter at this point, only this matters…"

"No way," she whispered.

Haru was up far later into the night than she intended as she read through every page of the book. She'd paused only long enough to pack up everything else into the box and close it before laying back down on her bed and continuing to read about her mother and her life as a hitman for the Hanatachi family—a family that had provided sanctuary to the Vongola Primo when he'd first come to Japan.

Haru woke up the next morning and got ready for school, dropping her mother's journal into her bag to read further on when she had a chance. The journal explained a lot of things if you believed that memories lay within the genes you possessed. Haru's mind was not on her journey as she made her way to school, it was in the distant past, trying to grapple with the full spectrum of what her mother's journal revealed.

After school, she met up with Kyoko as usual and received news that everyone was back from whatever they'd been doing. Dino and Basil were in the hospital and they decided to make plushies and go visit them, meeting up with Tsuna-san and the rest and heading in. They'd had to cut their visits short when explosions broke out on the second floor, but Haru didn't buy the story that some of the machinery had malfunctioned—she was just glad that everyone was going to be all right.

Haru got home later in evening and made light meal for dinner for herself and her father and settled down at the table to take care of the homework that had been piling up for a while with his help. Neither of them mentioned the box or her stories that she'd been telling him for the last several weeks and it felt normal…almost.

The third day dawned and Haru rolled over to stare at her clock for a long moment. There wasn't any school today so she'd be able to finish catching up on the homework, but she had somewhere else she was going to have to go today as well and she'd promised Kyoko they could hang out in the evening after her best friend was out of school. She got up and went downstairs to prepare breakfast and work on some more homework until it was closer to the time she was supposed to meet Madame Cho.

When the clock hit eleven, Haru went back upstairs and went through her clothing, picking out stuff that she could easily move in. She put on her mother's ring and secured her mother's hair sticks in her hair instead of the ones that she'd gotten from Madame Cho's shop. Nervousness clenched Haru's stomach; she remembered that Akai had said the kanzashi that were shown to her were created by the Hanatachi family. Idly she wondered if she'd be able to use them to open the conversation with Madame Cho or if she really wanted to open that particular can of worms.

She found the café after a couple tries and settled at the table, ordering a chai latte and waiting quietly as she picked crumbs off the lemon bread.

"I recognize those kanzashi, Miura-san."

Haru turned to see Madame Cho, or the woman she thought was Madame Cho walking towards her. Today the Madame was not wearing her traditional kimono or make-up and was dressed in a long skirt and silk shirt with the only sign that she was the woman Haru had met in the butterflies hanging off the kanzashi securing the black and silver hair out of her face. "Madame Cho," she managed, standing up abruptly and dropping into a bow.

Madame Cho's laughter echoed softly. "Please, no formality for today, Miura-san," she said. "Have a seat."

She turned to the server and smiled at him and a flush spread across his cheeks for a moment and he stuttered out the question of if she wanted her usual or not. "Yes, please," Madame Cho smiled. "I hear that the owner acquired some truly lovely tea this past week."

The server managed to make his way back into the shop under Madame Cho's amused dark eyes before she turned them on Haru. Haru had resumed her seat and was clenching her hands nervously in her lap beneath the tablecloth hoping that her face at least was calm as she watched the older woman. "M-madame Cho…"

"Cho is fine, Madame is not suitable when I am dressed like this," the Madame said.

"C-Cho-san," Haru stumbled over the words herself, thinking it felt very strange to call her something like that rather than 'Madame'. "I—"

"I never thought I would see those particular kanzashi again, they were given to an itinerant child long ago," Cho observed. "She looked so lovely in her traditional kimono, but on the day she left us, she requested we not look for her and we let her go. She had done many favors for us over the time she was with us, the least we could do was let her try and find a normal life. I find it interesting that her daughter has found her way back to our fold…"

"I'm not—Tsuna-san…" she began.

Cho held up a hand and smiled. "Don't try and go into too many explanations here, Miura-san. You were not raised with us, so we have no say in where you wind up. Now that I know your connection, you look very much like Fumiko-chan, though most did not know her by that name."

"Nadeshiko," Haru murmured and Madame Cho's eyes widened.

"Where did you hear that name?" she asked quietly.

Hesitantly, Haru extracted the black book from her bag and laid it on the table between them and met Madame Cho's eyes. "You're the Boss, aren't you?" Haru asked softly. "Like Tsuna-san…"

"I'm the thirteenth Boss more specifically," Madame Cho said. "Perhaps we should continue this conversation elsewhere after tea of course."

They ate their cakes and sipped their drinks talking of things that only had a passing bearing on why Haru had actually met up with Madame Cho.


End file.
